A charity dedicated to fighting maternity discrimination said a survey it carried out found the cost of childcare was the primary reason for women terminating their pregnancy.
Pregnant then Screwed, which demands a better childcare system that abolishes the motherhood penalty, surveyed more than 1,600 women.
And the results found more than 60% were influenced by the childcare system when considering having an abortion, with 17% stating that it was the primary reason.
The findings were higher for black women with over 76% admitting the cost of childcare was a fundamental reason in their decision to have an abortion, and 70% of mixed race.
Recent figures from the Family and Childcare Trust found the average nursery place costs parents £138 a week – that’s more than £7,000 a year.
The average cost for a child under the age of two has increased by 2.5% in the last year alone, and the survey further revealed approximately 28,000 women who already had children were not going to have any more as a result of the rising childcare costs.
CEO of Pregnant then Screwed Joeli Brearley said: “We know that birth rates are higher in countries that allow women to combine childcare and careers.
“The MPs who have recently shown their disdain for women who terminate a pregnancy are doing little to fix the systems which force them to make this decision.”
One mother-of-one admitted to Pregnant then Screwed that she had to make the “heartbreaking” decision to terminate her second pregnancy due to the soaring childcare costs in addition to the general cost of living.
She continued: “The system is a shambles and it is so upsetting. It is horrendous that myself and my husband are both professionals, yet we cannot afford a second child due to the first years of their life requiring childcare.”
The subject of abortion rights is frequently dominating the news, especially over the summer with the Supreme Court oveturning abortion rights in Roe v Wade in the US in June.
It remains frightening that an estimated 36 million American women are without access to abortion rights and are backed into an unimaginable situation.
Joeli said: ”This is a crisis and the Government’s response has been wholly inadequate.”
To fight for affordable childcare and flexible working hours, 12,000 mummies are marching in unison across the UK today (29th October). Manchester is just one of the 11 UK cities joining in the protest.
To get involved or to find out more information, follow Pregnant then Screwed and #MarchoftheMummies.
