Families Delaying Children Due To 'High Cost Of Living'

A Jersey gynecologist fears that more families are delaying having children because of issues such as the high cost of living, which is increasing their risk of infertility.

The number of Jersey mothers aged 35 and above who give birth has gone up to around 36%, compared to 24% back in 2001.

In England and Wales in 2017, 22.7% of mothers were aged 35 or more at birth.

The older a woman gets, the higher the chance of infertility and the prevalence of infant illness and genetic abnormalities.

Dr. Neil Maclachlan says there are a combination of events that, for women, are a bit like a perfect storm.

"There are a number of factors in women's healthcare that lead to sub-fertility and then coupled with issues at work and cost of living and lack of funding of fertility treatment, it just moves the whole problem to a later age, to an age when treatment is less successful.

It's not a great picture.

As we all know, the cost of living is higher than in many parts of the UK and there are great benefits to living here, it is a wonderful place to live, but it comes at a cost and I think we've got to look after the citizens here and make sure that we try and mitigate some of the problems.

We have to reduce the effect of living in Jersey by encouraging employers and everyone to support people who want to have a family.

Unfortunately, some of that means providing some money for funding."

Doctor Neil Maclachlan adds that employers need to think about how supportive they are in helping women looking to start a family.

"It's extraordinary when you think, for example, the health service employs probably three-quarters or thereabouts of its staff are female and yet, many women, not just in health but in all sorts of work, can be disadvantaged if they make it known that they're even thinking of having a family.

Certainly, for many women who are trying to have a family, the whole thing has to be done in secrecy for fear of their employer finding out. Terrible."

An event called 'Championing Women's Health' is taking place at the Pomme D'Or on Thursday 17 March to raise awareness, and encourage islanders and employers to talk about the subject.

Event organiser and founder of Brand Champions, Fiona Wylie, hopes it will start the conversation and get the ball rolling towards changes in the workplace.

"Women should never feel obliged to delay starting a family because their employer wouldn’t be supportive or it could mean their career path is impacted negatively.

An open approach to what ‘back to work’ might look like and the option for new parents (both men and women) to work flexibly are key to ensuring we break the circle of inequity in the workplace."

Profits from ticket sales are being donated to the Eve Appeal. Tickets can be bought here.