Julia asked mothers if they regretted having their children. She received 10,000 responses.

Amid her fertility journey, Julia couldn't escape the young mothers on social media doting over their newborn children.

"I thought, 'Of course it looks nice, because a baby can't speak or do anything, so it's fun as it doesn't have a personality yet,'" she told Mamamia. "But what about women from a different generation with grown kids who have gone through all the phases? What do they think about their experience?"

Watch: Julia's question for mothers with grown children. Post continues after video.

Realising that some women would "go to the ends of the earth to get pregnant", Julia wanted to know if it was "worth it", particularly for women from a generation where being "childless" wasn't socially accepted.

"I wanted to see if having children eventually was fulfilling for them (like everyone says) or if they genuinely did regret it and had a different path for themselves," she shared with us.

So Julia — who has degrees in psychology and sociology — posed this question on TikTok: "Can the women who have GROWN children tell me if having children is worth it, and if you could do it again, WOULD YOU?"

And, boy, did women have things to say. The post soon racked up 10,000 comments (and counting) from women, both mothers and childless, sharing their perspectives.

"Yes to the kids. No to the husband who didn't share the work and had me single parent while married and the main bread winner," read one of the top comments.

"Love my kids. That said, in my next life I would like to be childless, independent, career-oriented with countless affairs," added another.

"The best part of my entire life is our two kids. It is hard at times, for sure, but it's the biggest joy I will ever experience."

"I think all the 'nos' boil down to people who had children because it was the next thing to do in their life, like a checklist, and not people who actually wanted to become parents." 

"I'm a parent, I think a lot of these parents seem to romanticise what 'they could have been' without kids when in reality they probably wouldn't have done anything cool or significant."

"Yes but no. Has nothing to do with the kids, they're amazing. I would choose them again and again. But I wish the world was a better place for them to grow old in."

"No. I've lost myself completely. 20 years sitting at home, every day. And now? Too old to work."

"Absolutely. But I waited until I was 35, financially stable with a good husband that pulls his own weight and isn't useless."

"I have four grown-up kids and no, I wouldn't do it again. I love the kids and wouldn't change them. But if I live again, no chance."

"My mum says she would do it again but choose a better father for us."

"Decided not to. Now 67. Semi retired. Loving life and financially secure."

"Heartbreaking to see the 'nos'. I would do it a hundred times over, the most rewarding thing in the world."

"I'm a firm believer that you can find happiness in life either way. Please don't rely too heavily on other people's experiences. Find your own happiness."

These were the tamer comments. But the discussion got so heated that Julia had to filter over 400 remarks.

"People were going insane and arguing with each other," she told Mamamia. "Many mums said they love their kids but wouldn't do it again — younger mums were shaming them, women were complaining about their daughter in laws or ungrateful kids, you name it."

Many people also attacked Julia herself, suggesting that if she had to ask the question in the first place, she shouldn't have children.

"[That] was silly, as I never mentioned it was for me," Julia said. "We are almost one year into our fertility journey, which is pretty painful and s**tty getting your period each month when that isn't the plan."

There were, however, comments that gave Julia hope. These were from women who gave birth in their mid-to-late 30s and said it was "the best thing for them".

"Many have said they wished they waited longer (as in, had children in their 30s) to be more mature, fix their issues, go to therapy, have more money and live their life," Julia shared.

"There were some IVF stories which were beautiful, and stories from women and their rainbow babies. It is possible, and I did the right thing waiting a bit later.

"I wanted to establish my career, despite the fact that I do not actually need to work I will always choose to do so, I have travelled and lived my life. The comments cement that I did make the right choice by waiting and not having a baby with the wrong man."

Ahh yes, the wrong man. Another common thread in the thousands of comments.

"Many said they would do kids again but not marriage; fascinating," shared Julia. "I love the stories from the single parents, who said it was difficult but [that] being a single parent was actually easier than doing that with a troublesome man.

"There were so many stories like this, 'The kids are not the problem, the man is' — many encouraged women to do it alone if they could afford it! No wonder 4B is on the rise."

For Julia, this experiment has reinforced that we can be "too quick to judge our parents".

"Yes, some shouldn't be parents, we know that, but many others were just doing their best," she said.

"We are all just people at the end of the day, living life for the first time. It's okay to speak up and be human. It also doesn't mean they don't love us."

Feature Image: TikTok/@life.after.thirty