Why do some women choose to have large families?

As the American birth rate declines, academic Catherine Ruth Pakaluk decided to look at the 5% of American women who are outliers, and who have five or more children. With a colleague, she interviewed 55 of those women, and shares their reasons and experiences in her new book, “Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.”

These women share openly about how having a large family has affected their careers, their identities, and their marriages. Listen to the full interview on “The Daily Signal Podcast,” or read a partial transcript below, edited for clarity and length.

Katrina Trinko: Joining me today is Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, author of the new book, “Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.” Catherine is also an economics professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Catherine, thanks for joining us.