Three out of four new mothers would stay at home to bring up their child if they could afford to, a report said yesterday.
A traditional family – with a breadwinning father and a full-time mother – remains the ideal for the vast majority of women, the study found.
The conclusion flies in the face of the assumption among politicians, civil servants and academics that working is good for mothers and that what families really want is more subsidised childcare.
According to the research, six out of ten mothers who return to work after having a baby do so only to pay off debt or ease financial pressures. Just one in seven said they wanted to develop their career.
The findings, produced from a survey commissioned by uSwitch of 1,008 mothers, back up a series of opinion polls in recent years, all of which showed that a high proportion of new mothers would prefer to stay at home.
