One in three women cannot afford to have a baby, or another child, while a quarter will delay having children until they’ve reached certain financial or career goals. In addition, only 51pc said they would like to start a family and 20pc said they definitely do not want children.
That’s according to The Irish Examiner Women’s Health Survey [1] of 1,078 women over 16, carried out by Ipsos B+A.
This is occurring while Ireland’s fertility rate is just 1.5, well below the replacement level of 2.1.
The survey found that a third of women feel they cannot afford to have a baby, or another child, with younger women in particular putting family plans on hold.
To the statement, “Financially I don’t feel I am in a position to have a child/another-child”, 20pc of respondents said they agree strongly; 15pc agree somewhat; 13pc neither agree nor disagree; 6pc disagree somewhat; 5pc strongly disagree; 40pc don’t-know/not-applicable.
A quarter of women surveyed will delay having children until they’ve reached certain financial or career goals. This jumps to 65pc of women aged between 18-24.
The survey also found that just under half of mums would like to have more children. Younger mums and those from less affluent backgrounds were most keen to extend their families.
Moreover, 20pc of women have difficulty getting pregnant, with half of those considering fertility treatment.
Family sizes continue to fall, with just half of mothers with a single child saying they would like to have a second. The average Irish family is now 2.29 children, reflecting falling fertility rates worldwide.
Meanwhile, a poll in the US [2] shows those in their 20s and 30s plan to have fewer children than in the past. The desired number of children averages out at 1.8 per couple.