For any woman who has doubts about motherhood, a new book offers a number of reasons, 40 in fact, to lock up her womb and throw away the key.

"No Kids: 40 Reasons Not to Have Children," caused a huge uproar when it was published in Europe in French in 2007, largely because the author openly stated that she regrets having children.

In the book, Corinne Maier -- a mother of two -- explains that she came to the realization after a disastrous family trip to a museum that ended in temper tantrums.

"Sometimes I regret having children," Maier explained earlier this week during an interview on Canada AM. "Not every day, but sometimes when my children are mischievous or when they annoy me too much. And yes, I thought it would be fun to write a tongue-in-cheek book about children because nobody explores the shortcomings of having children. We are supposed to be so delighted when you have children."

Each of the 40 reasons Maier gives to remain childless gets a chapter in the book.

Titles such as, "Child, the killer of desire," and, "They will destroy your time and your freedom," shocked readers in France, where the state financially rewards women for having kids.

Maier argues generous maternity-leave benefits and cash payments for having more children prevent women from being successful outside the home.

But she also says her book was meant to be a humourous look at the bad days all families have, when mothers wish they were anywhere but in the kitchen, wiping baby food off the walls.

"Those days when sometimes you say, 'I'd like to have another life,'" she said.

According to Maier, her book is designed to break through the myths that motherhood alone gives meaning to a woman's life. It is also a warning to consider how dramatically one's life will change after having kids.

"I think it's important to consider our desires first and then to think about the future," she said.

It's hard to predict how readers will respond to the book in North America, where celebrity "bump watches" are a hallmark of Hollywood reporting and Bugaboo strollers match cars and homes as status symbols.

Maier expects a divided verdict, much like in Europe.

"Some people are shocked, some people love it and understand that it's a book made to laugh about ourselves and to show the conventional parents in a kind of mirror," she said.

But most importantly, what do her children think of the book? Maier said she has explained to her kids that she wasn't criticizing them directly or insinuating that she doesn't love them.

"I think they've understood that there was nothing bad in it," Maier said. "And my daughter has read it recently and she told me, 'Yes, it's fun, I think it's a good idea to write a book on such an issue.'"