Sophie Round feels guilty for not taking full maternity leave after financial reasons forced her to return to work just four months after giving birth.
She’s not alone at all. New data from pregnancy discrimination campaign group Pregnant then Screwed has revealed that only one in four British mothers can claim full maternity leave entitlements due to the cost of living and low parental pay.
This is what some women said when they received statutory maternity benefits from their employers instead of higher wages. I They were forced to return to work much earlier than planned. A self-employed woman returned to work two weeks after giving birth.
The survey of 5,165 mothers who were at least 20 weeks pregnant or had a baby under 12 months found that the majority of mothers who cut back on maternity leave did so because they could not afford it. benefit – with a return of 10 percent within four months or less.
Ms Round, a self-employed woman, was answering work emails an hour before she had a caesarean section to give birth to her daughter Peggy.
“Even though I have two girls who work for me part-time, there are some parts of my job that no one else can do,” she said.
“I had someone handle my emails and phone calls, but since it was my business, I was afraid he would get hurt. I was busy with the administrative side of things and working with email up until an hour before my scheduled C-section, and then shortly after giving birth I checked my email again.
“It’s a juggling act, and not only are you stressed about being underpaid and just having a baby, but you’re also juggling your company’s finances to make sure everything stays afloat while you’re away.”
Mrs Round, from Salisbury, whose husband Matt Round is a university lecturer, said that although they both earned good salaries, statutory maternity benefits were not enough to cover rising costs.
She decided not to breastfeed because she couldn’t afford to miss work.
“I knew whoever was looking after my daughter could easily feed her,” she said.
“I feel like a failure for not breastfeeding Peggy and not being able to fulfill my dream of being home with her for nine months to a year. The mother guilt I feel is enormous.”
She added: “The pressure women face, especially when it comes to the cost of living, is terrible. “We are punished for having children.
“Even though my husband and I have a very good income, every month we think, ‘How are we going to pay the child care bill?’
“For single parents and people from low-income families, I just don’t know how they can do it.”
Another mother in the study, Hannah, who asked not to use her last name, returned to work three months after giving birth.
“During my pregnancy, my previous employer forced me to quit my job,” she said. I. “There was absolutely no way I could survive on statutory maternity pay and with no family nearby to move in with, there was no other alternative.
“Then there are childcare costs – it’s a joke. My baby is now six years old and I am still paying off the debt I took on to survive.”
After just two weeks, independent mother Sarah had to return to work. She attended client meetings with her four-week-old baby.
“I had another meeting where I was told not to tell the client that I had just given birth to a baby and had to pump milk into the toilet,” she said.
Currently, statutory maternity leave in the UK is a maximum of 39 weeks. Mothers will receive 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks, then £172.48 or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for the next 33 weeks. This is less than half the cost of living in the country.
In April, mandatory maternity benefits increased in line with the inflationary increase, which increased all benefits.
Maternity benefit is also paid for up to 39 weeks and is intended for those who are not entitled to the statutory wage, usually because they are on a low income or are self-employed.
Statutory maternity benefits are paid in the same way as wages (monthly or weekly), less taxes and social security. Companies can use their own maternity benefits to pay amounts above the statutory amounts, often referred to in contracts as “extended” maternity benefits.
Joely Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We have one of the lowest rates of maternity leave in the world.
“The National Minimum Wage is the statutory minimum wage a person should pay, but new mothers are expected to live on less than half that for 33 weeks while their expenses remain the same.
“And of course the cost of living crisis is exacerbating this problem.
“The perinatal period is vital for the health and well-being of the mother and her baby, and I think we should all be very concerned that we are now seeing the degradation and decline of this vital period due to serious difficulties.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.