Working mother
Working mothers
Who’s holding the baby?
These days, better education and career opportunities for women in the English-speaking world mean that many women are leaving it until the age of 30, or even 40, to start a family. By this age, many women already have successful careers which they are often reluctant to give up. These days there are a number of men, especially those in couples where the women earns the most money, who are happy to stay at home in the traditional role of the “housewife”, but for a large proportion of couples this is not an option. Financial pressures, particularly in the UK, where house prices have reached astronomical heights, mean that many couples cannot afford to give up one of their salaries when a baby arrives. In 39% of British couples with children, both parents work, and some women return to work when their babies are only three or four months old. So who is holding the baby for these couples?