11:03a.m. 27th August 2008

| By Sam Benger

Jennie McDonald returned to work a month after the birth of son Riley, now nine-months-old, because of financial pressures. Photo: Brett Wortman/177918

Many mums who would rather be at home with their children are being forced back into the workforce because of increased costs of living.

A Galaxy online survey of 1000 adults found more than two-thirds of working mothers would prefer to stay at home, but financial pressures forced them back to work sooner.

Some mothers said they returned to work for a more comfortable lifestyle or to put their children through private education, but only 7% went back to work because they felt their career was important.

Maroochydore mother Jennie McDonald said she started back at work part-time just one month after having her son, Riley, to meet increased living costs, but she also wanted to go back.

“My employer was able to give me the opportunity to work from home, so I started doing that when Riley was one month old, and when he was six months old I went back to work part time. As he gets older I’ll have more days back at work,” Jennie said.

Riley, now nine months, spends two days a week at Maroochydore Family Day Care while his mother works. Jennie said it was a difficult decision to go back to work.

“I think if my employer wasn’t so flexible and I had to choose between going back to work full-time or staying at home, I’d stay at home,” she said. “It was a difficult decision, and I had to make sure that (Riley) was with someone I was comfortable with and who I trusted, and I chose to put him with a day care mum because the interaction was one-on-one.”

Jennie said it was important to plan what to do when having children and she and her husband, Brad, had sat down and worked out their budget.

“When we did our finances, we realised it wasn’t an option for me to stay home for 12 months because of rising costs of living, increased interest rates, paying off a mortgage, petrol, and the costs associated with having a baby, so I knew I had to go back to work.

“I was hesitant at first, because I was very attached to him and it was hard to let him go to someone else for the day, but when I thought about the fact that lots of people have done it before, and when I found the right person (to care for the child), I felt more comfortable.”