Baby break unaffordable

FINANCIAL stress is forcing new mothers to return to work early and research suggests one in five don’t take maternity leave at all because they can’t afford it.

Financial difficulty causes half of working parents to return to work sooner than they would like after a birth and a disturbing number to skimp on their own healthcare by forgoing medicine or insurance.

The proportion of women in the workforce is at its highest level of 60.4 per cent.

A recent national online survey quizzed 1019 parents who had at least one child aged five or younger.

It found that for one in four families, having a child drove them into debt or increased their existing debt.

And financial strain forced more than half to go without.

Of those tightening their belts, a third said they had sacrificed their own healthcare, while 16 per cent had cut back on health insurance.

Among working parents who returned to paid employ- ment within a year of a birth, a third relied on grandparents to help with childcare.

One in five working mothers did not take maternity leave when they had their youngest child.

CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said stagnant wages meant that many couples were already struggling to cope even before the extra cost of a baby was added.

“I think the key issue around household budgets is the lack of wages growth, really,” Mr Felsman said.

“We’ve got anaemic wages growth ... so there’s pressures as far as incomes are concerned,” he said.

Melbourne couple Tracy Lay and her husband James began saving early so Tracy could take 12 months’ maternity leave when Harper was born six months ago.

“It came down to a lot of planning. We did things like going out for breakfast less, and spending less on clothes,” Mrs Lay.36, said.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she said of their sacrifices. “The love you feel for your child is like no other.”