'Cost' Main Reason Mothers Postpone Having More Children

April 18, 2011 - PRLog -- As part of ongoing research into the parenting habits of Britons, the UK’s leading discount website, http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, has conducted research in a bid to discover the reasons women may have for ‘holding-off’ growing their family after their first-born. 1,201 mothers  aged 18 and over were subsequently polled, all with one child, and were asked questions surrounding their intentions to expand their family.

The study, conducted by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, initially asked respondents "Do you intend to have more children?" to which three quarters, 76%, of respondents answered "yes." These respondents were then asked, "Do you intend to have more children in the near future, or are you 'holding off' having more until a later date?" to which over half, 51%, explained that they were 'holding off' having another child.

Those who admitted that they were 'holding off' having more children until a later date were asked to explain the main reasons why they were doing so. Respondents were able to choose multiple answers, depending on what factors were encouraging their decision to postpone having more children.

The most popular reason for 'holding off' having more children, according to the results, was the 'expense' involved in having another child; with 48% of respondents citing this as a factor.  Of those who chose 'expense' as a factor, two thirds, 66%, admitted that they were having to 'save money' in order to have another child in the future.

The second most popular reason, for 32% of the mothers asked, was their ‘career.'  When these respondents were asked to elaborate further on why their 'career' was causing them to postpone expanding their family, 39% stated that they had ‘missed’ their job when on maternity leave with their first child; whilst 41% were concerned that having another child would 'hinder their career progress.'

According to the research by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, 19% admitted to holding-off having more children because of the ‘effects pregnancy had on the body’; whilst a further 13% stated that they wanted to hold-off having another child until their first born was older.

Just over a tenth, 12%, of the mothers taking part in the poll claimed that ‘relationship problems’ were a factor in their decision to hold-off having another child. Of these, 55% elaborated that they wanted to postpone having more children until their relationship with their partner was more stable.

Mark Pearson, chairman of http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said the following about the findings:

“With this research, we wanted to look into the reasons why mothers may want to postpone having more children, despite having already started a family. It was really interesting to see the overriding reasons, particularly given that money was the most popular answer. This is, of course, completely understandable given the huge cost involved in having a family; and many can see the financial commitment involved in having another child as daunting.

He continued:

“If parents are considering more children but feel that they need to save a few pounds beforehand, discount sites such as MyVoucherCodes.co.uk really can help to save the pennies. Savings can be found on thousands of everyday purchases ranging from food to clothing and children’s toys; helping to lessen the effects that another baby can have on your finances."
ENDS

LINK: http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk.  

For more information please contact Charlotte Horsfall of 10 Yetis Public Relations on charlotte@10yetis.co.uk or 01452348211.

Editor’s Notes

Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million.

Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year.

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site