Taking into account the heterogeneity of reproductive behaviours during the baby boom in Switzerland, this paper focusses on the people who did not participate in the rise of births because they remained childless. Childless people during the baby boom are particularly interesting, as their life trajectories lack events that were frequent and highly valorised during this period. Analysis of their trajectories allows interrogating the cultural and ideational context of the baby boom through non-normative life experiences. How can we explain the reproductive trajectories of people who did not have children in a context where most people had children, fertility rates were on the rise and family values were highly valorised?