A majority of working women in metros are shelving motherhood for fear of stress and emotional distress associated with issues of work-life balance. Many of them also put career growth before child-rearing.

These are findings of a random survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and India (Assocham) of about 1,200 young full-time working women without children and about 800 stay-at-home mothers in the age group of 24-30 years in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Over half (650) of married working women said they had shelved plans to start a family as career advancement and higher-education was a priority, said the survey.

Also, they were apprehensive about dealing with stress and emotional distress associated with issues of work/life balance,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary-General of the industry chamber in a release.

“Household chores, social commitments and other obligations make raising kids a delicate balancing act for career women,” said Mr Rawat.

Lifestyle and wealth were quoted as reasons for opting out for about 10 per cent of women, who said they worked to lead a better lifestyle and needed to accumulate enough wealth to cope with rising costs of childcare.

Of the 800 stay-at-home mothers, about 35 per cent admitted that they had put their social life on hold and were not able to take much care of themselves and their families. About 25 per cent said they regretted not being able to work and were finding it hard to make both ends meet due to rising cost of living. Of these, about 80 said they regretted motherhood as they had lost their social identity, the survey said.

Many others said they were proud of choosing motherhood over work as it could lead to comprehensive development of their children.

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