Which career first?

Editor—Free choices about having children cannot be made with partial knowledge, economic disadvantage for mothers, and unsupportive workplaces.¹ I believe that Bewley et al are absolutely right in this and in their following argument for better support for mothers citing the cost to the state and employers of women delaying pregnancy—which got a little lost in the media furore about women “defying nature.”

However, meanwhile women remain caught in the dilemma: to delay pregnancy and incur the risks, or to have children and lose out on career opportunities, earnings, and pension. Although it remains important to strive for better support for mothers in the future, they have to choose in a current climate that is as unsupportive as the authors described. This means that advice concentrating on the risks of pregnancy after 35 could increase this dilemma and instil a sense of guilt and selfishness, while not addressing the circumstances in which this choice is being made.