BBC Radio 5 Live Maternity Leave Poll

A survey of British women who have had a baby in the last ten years on their experience of maternity leave

Over a quarter of mums (27%) who had a baby in the last ten years, did not enjoy their maternity leave as much as they thought they would
Nearly half (47%) felt lonely while on maternity leave
Nearly one in five mums (19%) wished they’d gone back to work earlier, and two in five (41%) missed being at work
A quarter (27%) found it more difficult to bond with their baby than they initially thought, and half (49%) felt obliged to be positive about spending time with their baby
And over half (54%) found breastfeeding more difficult than they thought they would

The poll also paints a picture of younger mums, and those from ethnic backgrounds, finding maternity leave harder than older mums;

Nearly half (45%) of the mums aged 18-24 who ComRes questioned for the survey, and a third (30%) of the mums aged 34 and under, didn’t enjoy their maternity leave as much as they thought they would
Nearly three in five (59%) of mums aged 18-24 said they felt lonely, and nearly two in five (38%) of mums aged 18-24 wished they’d gone back to work earlier
And a third (34%) of women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds questioned for the survey did not enjoy their maternity leave as much as they thought they would, compared to a quarter (26%) of white women

Date Published: 15/11/2018

Categories: GB | Health | Public and communities | Social

Client: BBC Radio 5 Live

Methodology

ComRes surveyed 1,021 British women who have had a baby in the last ten years, have taken maternity leave and returned to work, online between 30th October and 5th November 2018. Data were not weighted. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.