TheBump.com and ForbesWoman.com “State of Parenthood and Economy 2012” Survey Reveals Nearly Half of Working Moms Admit They Would Be Happier if They Didn’t Work
15% of Stay-at-Home Moms Resent Their Partners For Being The Ones Who Continue to Work
NEW YORK (September 12, 2012) – TheBump.com, the fastest-growing pregnancy and parenting website, and ForbesWoman.com, the premiere website for entrepreneurial and ambitious women, today revealed the results of a co-branded “State of Parenthood and Economy 2012” survey. This survey polled nearly 1,000 US working and stay-at-home married or partnered mothers on TheBump.com and ForbesWoman.com about their decisions to work or stay at home after having a baby, and how their financial situation and the economy affected those decisions. Survey results reveal everything from how moms feel about giving up their career (or not) for their baby to whether they resent the size of their husband’s or partner’s paycheck.
“Moms today are sacrificing more than just their ‘me’ time after having a baby,” says Carley Roney, editor in chief of TheBump.com. “Personal spending and even full-time careers are taking a backseat to raising children and are ultimately having an effect on moms’ overall happiness. This survey reveals that whether working or stay-at-home, moms are feeling pressure from their financial situations and partners to choose their role.”
“Americans are facing more financial pressure than ever, and our survey reveals some troubling cracks in the facade of the have-it-all working mother,” says Meghan Casserly, ForbesWoman staff writer. “In short: They’re an unhappy lot. The majority of working women tell us they consider the opportunity to stay at home with their children to be a financial luxury, and more than a third resent their partners for not earning enough to make it a possibility. This raises some significant questions for parents and the companies that hope to keep them in the workforce.”
Highlights from the “State of Parenthood and Economy 2012” survey include:
*NEARLY 70% OF WORKING MOMS FEEL PRESSURE TO WORK TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES. Of the working moms surveyed, 69% say they feel pressure to work because their family can’t survive without the added income, yet more than half (52%) of the women surveyed say their partners or others sometimes make them feel that they aren’t devoting enough time to their child/children. And 44% of stay-at-home moms say their partner or others sometimes make them feel like they’re not pulling their own financial weight.
*MORE THAN 10% OF STAY-AT-HOME MOMS REGRET GIVING UP THEIR CAREER. Both working (84%) and stay-at-home moms (66%) agree that being able to stop working to raise children is a financial luxury, yet 38% of stay-at-home moms feel guilty about not going back to work, and 13% even regret giving up their career for their baby.
*MOMS FEEL RESENTMENT TOWARD THEIR PARTNERS. Whether they’re working or not, moms overall say they feel resentful toward their partners. Of the stay-at-home moms surveyed, 15% agree that they resent their partner for being the one to continue working after baby was born. More than a third of working moms (36%) agree that sometimes they resent their partner for not making enough money for them to stay home with the baby/kids.
*APPROXIMATELY HALF OF WORKING MOMS AGREE THEIR OVERALL HAPPINESS WOULD INCREASE IF THEY DIDN’T WORK. More than a third (34%) of working moms admit that their work performance was slacking a bit and they wished they were home with baby after returning to work. In fact, 47% agree that their overall happiness would increase if they weren’t working. On the other hand, only nearly one in five (19%) of stay-at-home moms admit their overall happiness would increase if they worked outside the home.
*THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY HAS AFFECTED PARENTING. One in three working moms (33%) and almost one in four stay-at-home moms (24%) agree that the economy has kept them from giving their child the lifestyle they hoped they could. On a positive note, the economic climate has made moms better, more hands-on resourceful parents (67% of working moms and 79% of stay-at-home moms).
*NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD CHILD CARE IS A DECIDING FACTOR IN MOMS CHOOSING NOT TO WORK. With increasingly expensive child care costs around the country, it’s no surprise that 14% of stay-at-home moms say the primary factor in deciding to stay home with their children was not being able to afford child care.
*STAY-AT-HOME MOMS WORRY THE ECONOMY WILL MAKE IT HARD TO FIND A JOB IN THE FUTURE. Almost half (44%) of stay-at-home moms anticipate returning to work full time at some point in the future, while 38% are not sure. Of those who plan to return to work, almost two out of three (65%) worry that the economic climate will make it harder for them to find a job.
*BOTH WORKING AND STAY-AT-HOME MOMS SACRIFICE “ME” TIME THE MOST. Since becoming a parent, approximately half (48%) of working moms and 34% of stay-at-home moms surveyed said their biggest sacrifice was “me” time. An identity outside being a mother (25%) was the next-biggest sacrifice for stay-at-home moms, and both “my sexual relationship with my partner” (12%) and “opportunities to grow my career” (12%) were the second-largest sacrifices for working moms.
*A MAJORITY OF MOMS SPEND $100 OR LESS ON THEMSELVES EACH MONTH.
“Me” time is the number-one sacrifice of working and stay-at-home moms, but both groups also limit how much they spend on themselves. Not including everyday essentials, 63% of working moms and 78% of stay-at-home moms spend $100 or less on themselves each month.
To receive a full copy of the survey results, or to speak with an editor from TheBump.com or ForbesWoman.com, please contact Melissa Bach, mbach@xogrp.com, or Alexandra Talty,atalty@forbes.com.
About TheBump.com
The Bump is the only multiplatform brand focused exclusively on first-time moms looking for the inside scoop on fertility, pregnancy and new mommyhood, reaching millions of moms each year through The Bump Network, including TheBump.com, Breastfeeding.com and The Bump local guide. The Bump editorial team, “born” on The Knot, provides new moms stage-by-stage advice, stylish ideas, local resources, interactive tools and a savvy online community who are obsessed with knowing about everything baby. The Bump is a part of XO Group Inc. (NYSE: XOXO), a global media and technology leader devoted to weddings, pregnancy and everything in between. Follow The Bump on Twitter @thebump.
About Forbes Media
Forbes Media LLC, publisher of Forbes magazine and forbes.com, is an authoritative source of news and information on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership and affluent lifestyles. Forbes.com, a leading business website, currently reaches 30 million monthly unique visitors, and Forbes magazine, Forbes Asia and Forbes Europe attract a global audience of more than 5 million readers. The company also publishes ForbesLife magazine, as well as 23 licensed international local-language editions around the world, including Africa, Afrique, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Middle East, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine.
ForbesWoman.com is the premiere website for entrepreneurial and ambitious women reaching 2.1 million visitors monthly visitors. The ForbesWoman editorial team and contributors cover issues related to entrepreneurialism, innovation, careers, personal finance, technology, lifestyle and more.
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