The pressure to start a family is overwhelming for women and nowadays many millennial women are focused on building their stellar careers and establishing a particular lifestyle they want and starting a family is probably the last thing on their mind. But, the clock is ticking and pressure builds the older they get, so why are woman increasingly waiting longer to have children? Read below as we give you a little insight.
Women and waiting longer to have children
Millions of women are making the decision to wait on motherhood for various reasons, but based on the experiences of many working women, the ability to afford time off and having children is not cheap and so this is one of many significant reasons why they are waiting.
Another important reason for some women is children feel like too great of a responsibility, and the idea of having someone else rely on you to live can scare many women, this fear may contribute to a lot of women’s decision to wait on motherhood.
The reality is a great deal of waiting is based on career and life goals for many women, their careers are very important to who they want to become and the lifestyle they want to live.
A recent study found that 3 out of 5 women were willing to delay starting a family until they reached a certain job title or level within their career.
The reality is, having children later isn’t a bad idea as it contributes to an increase in job satisfaction, which allows for growth within the economy, which can all have positive benefits on a women‘s mental health and society.
According to a House of Commons Libary report, the gender wage gap is largely due to childbirth. After women have children, their earning potential drops 20% less than their male counterparts over the course of their careers, which could all be part of the realisation for women and wanting to wait until later on in there career to allow for this drop to take effect.
Should young women delay having children?
This is a question that a lot of generation Z women are going to ponder on, especially with the after effects of Covid-19 but, every person needs to answer this on an individual basis and it should be based on their specific needs and wants from life. When making this decision consideration should be made on the pros and cons of having a baby later on in life and these are set out below.
Pros of waiting to have children are:
You are better educated
You are likely to live longer
You will have more financial security
You will have an established career
You are more well-adjusted and comfortable in your life
You will have more time to spend as a couple
You have no time restraints, as your time is yours
You tend to live a healthier lifestyle and can pass this on to your children
Cons of waiting to have children are:
It becomes harder to concieve after your mid-30‘s
Your at health risk because the risks of complications are higher
The risk of pregnancy loss by miscarriage and stillbirth is higher
Children born to older mothers have a higher risk of certain chromosome problems, such as Down Syndrome
You will have less energy as a parent to be active, especially if you haven’t been working out
Your body recovers slower the older you are
You're older when the kids leave the home and may not be able to enjoy grandchildren
Conclusion
For decades, delaying parenthood was the domain of the upper-middle-class in society as highly educated women put off having children until their careers were on track, often until their early 30s. But over the past decade, more and more women across all social classes have prioritise their education and career and delaying childbearing has become a broad pattern among women everywhere as they can work towards retiring early, a goal that would have otherwise been unattainable in a lot of cities; with this said any women should wait to have a child in a loving relationship where 2 people can raise a child in an environment that would benefit the outcome of that child’s well-being, whatever comes to counter act this outcome should be eradicated and pause put until the women is are ready to be the best mother she can be.
