Mothers in England face a sharp and sustained drop in earnings after childbirth, with the typical loss exceeding £65,000 within five years of a first birth, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The analysis examined the impact of having children on monthly employee earnings and employment status between April 2014 and December 2022. It found that five years after having a first child, monthly earnings were on average 42 percent lower than they had been in the year before pregnancy, equivalent to £1,051 per month.
When the figures were added up across the five-year period, the total earnings loss came to £65,618 following a first child, £26,317 after a second and £32,456 after a third.
Reduced employment chances
The ONS said the reduction in earnings was partly due to lower chances of being in paid work. Mothers were significantly less likely to be employed for at least five years after childbirth, compared with the year before. The steepest fall occurred one and a half years after a first birth, when the probability of being employed was 15 percentage points lower.
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Similar trends appeared after subsequent children. Employment probability was down by 10.5 percentage points almost two years after a second child, and by the same margin two and a half years after a third.
Even among those who stayed in work, monthly earnings remained well below pre-birth levels. “Earnings among those who were in paid employment followed a similar pattern to earnings overall, with the biggest loss in earnings after the first birth, and sustained reductions in earnings for five years after each birth,” the ONS said.
How the study was carried out
The findings were based on fixed effects regression modelling using linked datasets that had been de-identified in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The study included those who had children between 2014 and 2022, were aged 18 to 60 at the time of a first child and ordinarily lived in England.
The project was funded by the government’s Labour Markets Evaluation and Pilots Fund for 2024 to 2025.
The ONS cautioned that the results reflected births up to 2022 and “may not be applicable to births that happen in more recent periods, as the policy and economic landscape is different”. The data also could not account for changes in hours worked or for non-regular pay, including maternity pay.
Workplace inequality
The figures are likely to renew focus on the gender pay gap, which has been closely tied to motherhood. Research over the past two decades has shown that much of the gap between men’s and women’s pay opens up in the years following the arrival of children, when women are more likely to reduce hours or step back from career progression.
Observers argue that the new ONS study provides the clearest evidence yet of the scale and persistence of the so-called “motherhood penalty.” In practice, this means that women not only lose income in the short term during maternity leave but also see their career earnings trajectory permanently altered.
The long-term nature of the losses identified in the analysis, extending at least five years beyond each birth, suggests that temporary adjustments in working patterns cannot fully explain the gap.
Supporting mothers at work
The findings raise questions about how employers can better support mothers’ career continuity and financial security. Enhanced maternity pay, phased return-to-work policies and access to affordable childcare are among the measures often cited as ways to reduce the drop-off in earnings and employment after childbirth.
Flexible working practices are also under scrutiny. While many organisations now offer hybrid models, experts point out that flexibility must extend beyond location to include adaptable hours and progression pathways that do not disadvantage parents who cannot commit to traditional full-time schedules.
Some companies are experimenting with returnship programmes to help women re-enter the workforce after extended breaks. Others have introduced sponsorship schemes pairing senior leaders with returning mothers to accelerate career recovery.
Broader policy debate
The ONS report comes at a time when government policy on childcare and parental leave is under active debate. Campaign groups have called for longer periods of paid leave for fathers, arguing that a more equal division of caring responsibilities would reduce the disproportionate impact on mothers’ careers.
There is also increasing discussion about the affordability of childcare. Rising nursery and after-school care costs mean that for many families, especially those with more than one child, a return to full-time work is financially difficult. This can prolong periods out of the workforce and deepen long-term earnings losses.
