What does it mean to be a mother?

A mother who doesn't want her children (Article). I can think of few things that are worse than that.

I don't speak from experience, but as a child I never felt that I wasn't wanted. Even though I haven't always had the smoothest relationship with either of my parents, I was always secure in the knowledge that they love me and are happy to have me in their lives.

This woman states that after having her first kid she realized that "having a child had been the biggest mistake of my life." Then she went on to have a second child because that is what she agreed upon with her husband. She keeps repeating that she never wanted to have children, but then when she did become a mother she dedicated herself completely to the job, not hiring a nanny or neglecting her children like other mothers. She says that her children encroached upon her free time and she felt that "like parasites, both my children would continue to take from me and give nothing meaningful back in return".

Ironically, her own daughter, who decided not to have children, developed multiple sclerosis. The adult daughter is now living at home with the mother who wished she had never been born, and the woman states "I would cut off my right arm if she or Stuart needed it." She would do anything for the daughter she regrets having.
 
Is a mother obligated to love her children, or just provide the basic necessities in life? Should a woman have a child if she does not want one?

So many times I hear parents say that having children is a huge responsibility and takes a lot of work and energy, but they would never trade it for anything and that their kids are the best thing that ever happened to them.

Understandably, this article received 1839 comments, mostly people who were horrified that a mother could say these things, calling her cold-hearted and selfish. I am sure she expected the backlash.

I can't totally condemn her, because she is honestly stating something that she truly feels, it just happens to be a shock to society. Can I open up my mind enough to try and understand where she is coming from, or will hearing something like this leave me shaking my head sadly saying  "Why? How? I just don't understand how someone could say something like that..."