Many working mothers of only children do not wish to have another baby: Survey

Increasing expenditure together with the need to devote more time and energy both in taking care of parents and raising kids are key reasons why as many as 35 per cent working mothers in urban India avoid considering a second child, noted a just-concluded random survey conducted by ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation.

"Considering the stresses of modern marriage, job pressures, cost of raising children are key reasons why many mothers want to stop after their first child and decide not to add to their family," highlighted a random survey of 1500 working mothers of only children conducted by ASSOCHAM's social development wing ahead of Mother's Day (celebrated on 2nd Sunday of May each year).

The random survey was carried out in 10 cities of - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai during the course of past one month to gauge as to how much time working mothers generally spent with their son/daughter and their plans of having/not having another child and the reason for the same.

Of over 500 respondents who do not want to have another child, many even said that they hesitate knowing that their job/promotion might get jeopardised if they take another maternity leave.

Favoritism is another important reason as to why many respondents said they do not want another child to ensure that attention does not get divided, more so as gender is a common reason for favoring one child over another, said many respondents citing various reasons as to why they prefer sticking with single child policy.

Interestingly, majority of those who do not want another child said their spouse does not support their decision of stopping at one.

"Government should provide certain supportive measures/incentive such as reducing taxes for families/parents with a single child, so that single-child policy can be better carried out," opined many of these respondents.

While majority of the total respondents i.e. about 65 percent said they do not want their children to become lonely misfits and would rather make their kids understand the joys of sharing and companionship with a sibling.