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Women now have the ability to carefully choose whether to have children or not, and when to have children if they do choose to do so. This can bring very difficult decisions which women in previous generations did not have to face. They are very aware that having children will inevitably lead to dramatic changes in their lives, but many still have a very strong desire to become a mother. Women have come to expect a life of their own, so can find motherhood a great burden.

Being independent can be extremely difficult for someone who is both blind and deaf, according to Julia Gates, who has managed to fight for her independence and now has two children. She has had bitter conflicts with social workers, and feels that she would have been able to manage better if she had been left to fend for herself. She has a very determined personality, and has begun raising money for computer equipment which would allow her to communicate much more easily.

Trust for the Study of Adolescence figures indicate that between 1984 and 1994 the suicide rate for young males aged 13-24 rose by 70%. According to the Samaritans, 19,000 people below the age of 25 annually try to commit suicide and five people below the age of 25 succeed every two days. According to the coordinator of the Trust's Adolescent Mental Health Training young males are clever at planning suicide and alcohol is often involved. Tendency towards suicide appears to be lessened if young people think that they are being heard.