Maternal age and employment in pregnancy and after childbirth

Abstract

In this paper the relationship between maternal age and employment in pregnancy and after childbirth is explored. It was hypothesized that maternal age would influence women's attitudes to their employment using the Work and Life Attitudes Questionnaire (Warr et al., 1979). The research formed part of the Leicester Motherhood Project; a study in which 107 women in four age/parity groups (women of 35 and over: 27 nulliparae and 27 multiparae, and women aged 20–29: 26 nulliparae, and 27 multiparae) took part in a four-stage investigation of their experiences of pregnancy and early motherhood. At mid-pregnancy all employed participants (n = 79) completed the Warr et al. questionnaire and women were also asked about their experiences of employment and related issues such as childcare in pregnancy and at the end of the first year after the birth of the baby. It was found that maternal age did affect participants' responses on some of the subscales of the questionnaire; maternal age also influenced some aspects of the type of employment postnatally and the childcare selected. However, maternal age did not have an overwhelming impact as far as maternal employment was concerned.