A new survey has revealed that women are more concerned about paying their bills than having babies. And contrary to popular opinion, the research also showed that women consider losing their job more stressful than trying for a baby.
The national research study by Clearblue reveals key findings including:
• Having a baby is low on the list of priorities for Australian women, with only 4% of women aged 18-44 years seeing it as the top priority in their life.
• Stress doesn’t appear to enter the equation either with only 5% of Aussie women admitting that trying to conceive a baby is the most stressful event in their life.
• Bills and being short of cash is where the real concern lies for Aussie women aged 18-44, with 48% confessing that they feel most stressed about not being able to pay the bills, followed by 26% who admit that losing their job would be most stressful.
With money and jobs taking up the attention of Aussie women, research shows there is a serious consequence for women who wait to have a baby.
• The majority of Australian women (70%) admit they know of at least one person in their circle who has had difficulty conceiving and among women trying to fall pregnant, almost half (49%) have experienced difficulty.
• The survey results reflect current social trends that show that Australian women are, on average, making the decision to start their family at a later age than ever before.
Professor William Ledger, Senior Fertility Specialist at IVF Australia has commented on the findings: “Not only can waiting to have a baby beyond their early 30s lead to difficulty in conceiving for many women, the Clearblue survey also shows the possible effects of waiting on relationship issues such as stress (78%) and sex being seen as a chore (53%). Over half of the respondents went as far as to say that trying for a baby would take over their life (51%).”
There is also uncertainty about the time it takes the average woman to fall pregnant. Many (39%) believe that it takes 3-9 months on average but 27% would not expect it to take so long and 24% have no idea. However in their favour, Australian women do appear to be more clued up than their British counterparts about their menstrual cycle with 69% knowing the date of their last period compared to 46% of Brits.
What do you think about the findings?
