Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

A new survey revealed that a surprising number of British women admit they've considering having a baby just to take a year off work. I'm guessing they've never had kids before.
According to the Daily Mail, "nearly half of 2,000 British women questioned" said they've thought about getting pregnant to take advantage of the United Kingdom's 52 weeks' maternity leave. Surprising, because I feel like even those of us who haven't experienced the exhausting bliss of parenthood know that it's usually more work than we're prepared for.

Dr. Ellie Lee, a reader of social policy at the University of Kent, told the Daily Mail that for some women, motherhood becomes preferable to their career.

"If you’ve become ambivalent about work, becoming a parent is a way to discover a new identity. You can build a new life around children that can feel much more rewarding than a job."
Which is great, if being a mom is something you really want and you're not just in it for the time off work. Because among the many bad reasons to have kids, I imagine that would be at the top of the list.

Another terrible reason to have a baby? Hoping it will save your marriage. Oregon therapist Debbie Bensching tells the Huffington Post:

"A lot of the time, people are feeling a loss of connection and love in their marriage, so they kind of hold this fantasy that if they have a child that that will bring everything back to being OK. Part of it's an idealization, and the solution to fixing a problem."
Sure, it's possible to build a family on a shaky foundation. But the stronger your bond is, the more likely a baby will deepen it.

Estroff Marano, editor of Psychology Today, says "people think having a baby is a kind of a cement and it's generally nothing of the kind. Babies make demands that take time away from each other."

Marano adds that "babies take women out of the workforce, away from peers, it isolates them, and completely takes you away from what you've been doing."

Which brings us back to the maternity leave incentive. The Daily Mail interviewed a woman named Sarah Kerr, who admits she had her daughter, Alex, so she could take a break from her stressful teaching career. She explains that her days were filled with extra paperwork, children running down the halls, and tearful trips to the management office, where she received no support. It's not a secret that teachers are overworked. Kerr says:

"I started to think that pregnancy could be my way out. [My husband] and I became less careful with contraception, and I hoped it would happen so that I could have a break."

Kerr says she found motherhood magical and couldn’t stand to be away from her daughter, so she just quit her job altogether. It seemed to work for her, but according to the Gottman Institute, about 90 percent of couples say they're more stressed and less satisfied in their marriage after the birth of a baby.

The decision to start a family is not something to be taken lightly. And if anecdotes from hard-working moms are any indication, parenthood might just be the most difficult job you sign up for.

Article from:
http://living.msn.com/love-relationships/the-heart-beat-blog-post?post=01e154da-fdfc-42d5-adde-f433b5db05c5


I think this is ricidulous- parenting is work! I also think that a year for maternity leave should be available here in the US.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by moonmist09

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by moonmist09

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by rkl1130

Posted by moonmist09

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Why is it that we are offered next to no time off when it comes to maternity leave? It gets me so incredibly mad.

Message edited 5/9/2012 10:37:36 AM.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by rkl1130

Posted by moonmist09

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Why is it that we are offered next to no time off when it comes to maternity leave? It gets me so incredibly mad.

We are actually offered NO time at all.
It's at the company's discretion as to what they want to offer.
And at my last 3 companies they offered NOTHING.
Nada.
You have to use your own vacation and sick time.
The state will pay you short term disability but it is peanuts. Like under $200 a week I think.
It's totally disgraceful how far behind this country is in comparison to other nations.
I feel that it should be mandated that all companies offer paid maternity leave. At least 8 weeks.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Stupid reason to get pregnant!!! However, I will admit I am looking forward to my 3 months off of work. I know having a newborn will be a whole new kind of work, but it'll be nice to be home for a bit. That being said, I totally agree - the maternity leave policy (or lack there of) in this country is disgusting.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

ok this is not the reason that i want children but i am trying to plan getting pregnant around my busiest season at work.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by rkl1130

Posted by moonmist09

i think this is one of the most ridiculous reasons to have a baby.

with that said, i also think the US shouls offer 52 weeks of paid maternity leave

Why is it that we are offered next to no time off when it comes to maternity leave? It gets me so incredibly mad.

We are actually offered NO time at all.
It's at the company's discretion as to what they want to offer.
And at my last 3 companies they offered NOTHING.
Nada.
You have to use your own vacation and sick time.
The state will pay you short term disability but it is peanuts. Like under $200 a week I think.
It's totally disgraceful how far behind this country is in comparison to other nations.
I feel that it should be mandated that all companies offer paid maternity leave. At least 8 weeks.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

The company I work for also offer NO maternity leave. You have to use your vacation or sick time, and if you want more time off then it will be unpaid. SMH

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by BeachGrl

The company I work for also offer NO maternity leave. You have to use your vacation or sick time, and if you want more time off then it will be unpaid. SMH

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by Bella01

Posted by BeachGrl

The company I work for also offer NO maternity leave. You have to use your vacation or sick time, and if you want more time off then it will be unpaid. SMH

Same here!! It's ridiculous!!!

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Stupid reason.

However I work retail and I'm due Dec 8th, I must say I won't miss being at work around the holiday rush

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

I work for a school and we get no time either. We use our sick time and then can take disability which is like 200$ for 12 weeks. Then they will hold our jobs for 2 years but, we have no pay and we have to pay cobra for benifits. It is nice to have them hold the job but, it does nothing for me since I can't even afford a few weeks without pay. This is the major reason I am not having another kid right now. I took off so much time for Liam's ear infections and surgeries that I have like 2 weeks saved for maternity leave.

That being said.. to get pregnant to get a year off... That's nuts.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Is one year off really worth 18 years of overtime?

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by Mrs213

Stupid reason.

However I work retail and I'm due Dec 8th, I must say I won't miss being at work around the holiday rush

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Hey.. there are women HERE who have kids to get a bigger welfare check! come on! there's ALWAYS a group who take advantage of the system. Just the way it is.

Message edited 5/9/2012 5:17:32 PM.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Wait a minute...we don't get 52 weeks paid maternity leave! We get something called Statuatory Maternity Pay, so you get 6 weeks at 90% of your salary, and a further 33 weeks at £135, which is about $200. After that 9 months, you can either take a further 12 weeks off at no salary or return to work, but your company has to hold your job or a similar job for a year.

Its a prety good deal, but I don't believe much of what I read in the Daily Mail! lol! Except the fashion pages!

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Posted by emilylives

Posted by Mrs213

Stupid reason.

However I work retail and I'm due Dec 8th, I must say I won't miss being at work around the holiday rush

I didn't realize you were pregnant!!! Congratulations!!!

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

This is so dumb. I took 5 months off from my job after I had my baby. I was more drained, exhausted, and worked harder in those 5 months than I had worked at any job, ever in my life. Going BACK to work felt like a vacation (40 minutes for lunch?! Aaah, freedom!).

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

So thats why Michelle Duggar has so many kids.....she didn't want to work...lol.

This is silly....I swear it would have been easier to go to work those first few months. Raising a child is hard work and although I wish I could be home with my babies, I would never go off and have a kid just to get out of work.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

One thing to keep in mind is that the US population is 300 Million versus England which is only about 1/6th of that. It is much more complex and expensive to make laws that will cover every single person in this country, especially when every state also has a say in its labor laws.

Another thing is that in many of the countries with the best parental-leave laws (France, Norway, Sweden, etc) the tax rates are astronomically higher than in the U.S. It's part of a system which is very taboo here. It's called "socialism" and we all know that socialism is very un-American. So in lieu of high taxes, for those here in the U.S. who aren't lucky enough to fall under the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), it is left up to us to figure out on our own how we will pay for and provide care for our children.

But yeah, if you strictly compare some of the benefits in the U.S. versus the rest of the world, we rank down there with some 3rd World countries.

Re: Woman getting pregnant just to miss work?

Lol, I don't think anyone would call the UK Government Socialism! Hardly, its clearly a democracy, but people are happy to pay higher taxes to receive more benefits. Its a simple fact, the American people don't want to be part of a society where they have to pay for other peoples health or well being. People who live in these "socialist" countries are statisically happier, so do higher taxes mean happier lives?

If I don't respond to this, its because I have taken my child out to a government sponsered playgroup run by socialists!