Loose Women viewers say they didn’t feel guilty for going back to work after a short maternity leave

Loose Women viewers have said they ‘couldn’t afford’ to take a long period off work after having a baby as the panel debated whether paid maternity leave should be extended. 

During today’s programme, Jane Moore and Stacey Solomon said they had both experienced some level of guilt at returning to work shortly after giving birth, but said they had not choice because they ‘needed to pay the bills.’ 

Many of those watching agreed, with one writing: ‘Had a baby, was back at work 6 weeks later. No one is going to pay my mortgage or bills are they?’

Earlier this year, a survey found more than three-quarters of mothers on maternity leave have to scrimp, dip into savings or ask family for help because the average year-long leave may only cover around 54 per cent of their salary. 

Stacey Solomon, 31, said she had to go back to work right after giving birth to her son Zachary when she was 17, and said she felt guilty later one for missing moments of his life 

Speaking on the panel today, Jane, who gave birth to her first daughter Ellie in 1993, explaining: ‘With my first daughter, because I was a single mum and bills has to be paid, I had to go back really quickly.’

She said she felt lucky her own mother could care for the baby while she worked, adding: ‘I didn’t feel a shred of guilt, because I was paying the bills.’

She recalled: ‘It didn’t feel too soon. I had no pressure to go back, other than once you get to the point where the money starts to go down and you got bills to pay.

‘I just think with maternity leave, it’s all about if you are lucky to have a choice.’

Jane Moore, pictured, said she didn't feel 'a shred of guilt' for going back to work after her first child

Jane Moore, pictured, said she didn’t feel ‘a shred of guilt’ for going back to work after her first child

More than three-quarters of mothers on maternity leave have to scrimp, dip into savings or ask family for help  

More than three-quarters of mothers have had to find ways to cover income gaps due to taking maternity leave, a survey earlier this year found.

As the average year-long maternity leave may typically only cover around 54 per cent  of a woman’s salary, mothers have had to find ways to make up the typical shortfall of £12,852 compared with if they had been working, according to Direct Line Life Insurance.

Its research found that 76 per cent of recent or expectant working mothers have had to find a way to cover the loss of earnings during their maternity leave, including scrimping, dipping into savings and asking family for help.

The most common ways recent and expectant mothers have looked to save money is on everyday shopping such as groceries and clothing.

Nearly a fifth of mothers have been given financial help by friends or family members.

For some, the loss of income has meant relying more on the other household income, with 17 per cent saying their partner had to work longer hours and 13 per cent reporting their partner had to get a second job.

Some 16 per cent of mothers said they had worked longer hours themselves before going on maternity leave.

Just under a fifth, however, said they were in a secure enough financial position not to need to consider covering the shortfall.

Just over a third of expectant mothers or those who have recently had a child planned to, or had already, returned to work on the same hours they were on before maternity leave, the survey found.

She continued: ‘If you want to go back, or go back later, or not at all, great, whatever you wanna do. A lot of people don’t have that choice.’  

Mother-of-three Stacey, who gave birth to her first son Zachary at the age of 17, agreed and said she felt she had ‘no choice’ about when to return to work.

She said:  ‘When I had Zachary, I went back to college and I had to go to work – I had to put him in the creche.’

She added she had had to ‘just pay to have a child, college and creche’, saying: ‘You just do what you have to do and you don’t even think about it.’ 

Meanwhile when anchor Kay Adams said she always felt guilt with her children, Stacey confessed she understood.

She said: ‘I get where you’re coming from, Kay, because I look back now and I have a tremendous amount of guilt for not being there for most of my son’s life.

‘I just wasn’t there, I was studying, and working and that was that. 

‘But at the time, I just didn’t think anything of it because it was survival and you do what you gotta do.’

She continued: ‘I honestly believe there are a lot of people out there who don’t have a choice to say “should I go back? Should I not?”

‘There a point where statutory pay is not enough.’

She said she felt a ‘personal guilt’ about having not spent time with Zachary when he was a newborn.

Singer Frankie Bridge, who was on today’s panel, said she hadn’t felt the pressure to go back to work early, but had wanted to. 

She said: ‘At the time, I was still really busy, I didn’t have maternity leave as such, I just needed to come back as soon as possible.’

The singer confessed:’You worry about your career still being there.

‘I thought I would have kids and they say: “You know what, I’m done now, I’ve worked from a young age and I’d like to stay at home with my kids”. 

‘But it wasn’t enough for me, I still wanted to work.

‘Whatever decision you make, whether you go back to work, whether you’re staying at home, you have guilt on both sides,’ she added. 

‘And it comes part and parcel with being a mother,’ she concluded, ‘For some reason, we just have this pressure and we feel guilty whatever we do.’ 

 

Viewers echoed Stacey and Jane, saying they felt they 'didn't have a choice' about returning to work because they needed to pay their bills

Viewers echoed Stacey and Jane, saying they felt they ‘didn’t have a choice’ about returning to work because they needed to pay their bills 

Viewers echoed Stacey and Jane, saying they felt they ‘didn’t have a choice’ about returning to work because they needed to pay their bills.

One wrote: ‘I had to go back to work within 12 weeks in the 80s no one helped pay the Mortgage and was never able to get Social Housing then, despite popular opinion that you could.’

Another added: ‘Went back to work when both of mine were 12 weeks old, never felt guilty and they haven’t suffered.

‘For some it’s a choice, for others a necessity.’

The panel, consisting of Kay Adams, Frankie Bridge, Jane Moore and Stacey Solomon discussed the pressure new mothers put on themselves to go back to work

The panel, consisting of Kay Adams, Frankie Bridge, Jane Moore and Stacey Solomon discussed the pressure new mothers put on themselves to go back to work 

Others suggested the conversation was adding pressure to new mothers about whether they should return to work.

One said: ‘Discussion about unrealistic pressure put on mums to work, have kids, do it all and be superwomen, yeah?? 

‘I wonder if the Loose Women realise they, along with other TV types and online influencers, are some of the people who put so much pressure on “regular” mums?’