Why John Lennon and Yoko Ono Thought They Couldn’t Have a Child

TL;DR:

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono only had one child together.
• John explained how they changed their lifestyles in order to have a child.
• The child, Sean Ono Lennon, grew up to become a musician in his own right.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a child together named Sean Ono Lennon. They didn’t think they’d be able to have a kid with each other. Subsequently, an acupuncturist from San Francisco put them on a specific regimen and then they managed to have Sean.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono felt they couldn’t have a kid due to John’s health and Yoko’s age

In a 1980 interview contained in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John discussed the conception of his son, Sean Ono Lennon. Notably, Sean is the only child he had with Yoko. His only other child, Julian Lennon, was the born during his relationship with his first wife, Cynthia Lennon.

John revealed he and Yoko didn’t think they could have a child because Yoko was in her early 40s at the time. In addition, John thought becoming a father again was impossible because of the ways he “abused” his body when he was young. Both of them were wrong.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono were told to abandon drugs by an acupuncturist

John said he and Yoko received some advice when they were trying to have a child together. “Well, what happened to us was a Chinese acupuncturist who’s now dead, God rest his soul, in San Francisco, said, ‘Heck, you have a child. Just behave yourself. No drugs, no drink, eat well. You have a child in 18 months,'” John recalled.

The couple was skeptical. “We said, ‘But the English doctors said I’ve abused myself in my youth and she … And there’s no chance,'” he said. “‘Forget what they said. Eat well and behave yourself. No drugs, no drink, eat well. You have a child in 18 months.'”

John thanked the acupuncturist in his own way. “So we had Sean and I sent him a Polaroid of the baby just before he died,” John remembered. “He died right after Sean was born. You know, we were the positive thinkers and all that, but when this guy, this doctor, said we couldn’t … well, that’s when I realized that I did want a child and how badly. I wanted Yoko’s baby, not a baby.” Notably, John said Yoko had no age-related issues while delivering her son.

Sean Ono Lennon went on to have a few hit albums

Sean went on to become a psychedelic rocker, much like his dad. He’s’ been releasing albums regularly since his debut album, Into the Sun, which came out in 1998. That album reached No. 153 on the Billboard 200, saying on the chart for a single week.

Since then, two of Sean’s albums charted on the Billboard 200: Friendly Fire and Monolith of Phobos. The former was a solo album while the latter album was by Sean’s band The Lennon Claypool Delirium.

John and Yoko didn’t expect to have a child together — but their son grew up to be an accomplished artist in his own right.