ONS says 84% of births to parents living together 708,711 babies in England & Wales each year Actually about 11% of those sole registering were cohabiting So PROBABLY abou9t 100k a year to single parents – of whom over 60k were jointly registered
Single parents are being made redundant – largest problem caused by the recession Some may be unfairly selected for redundancy when having a baby Employers are reducing hours Loss of child maintenance when other parent loses work Bad time to sell property on relationship breakdown Debts building up, with risk of repossession. Of those repaying debts, over 44% were spending > a fifth of income on repayments
I felt that my kids had to be neater, cleaner, shinier and better-behaved than others to show that we were not a chaotic, dysfunctional family just because we were a single parent family. If they were naughty at playgroup I felt people would think ‘well it’s because they are from a single parent family” rather than just accepting that all kids are naughty sometimes.
Journal Royal Society of Medicine 2010 Ethnic and social inequalities in women’s experience of maternity care in England: results of a national survey. VS Raleigh, D Hussey, Seecombe, K Hallt More negative about choice of food Adequacy of pain relief Trust and confidence in staff Being left alone when worried being treated with respect and dignity
Higher advice needs than other family types - wide ranging and long-standing problems (Cardiff Univ for Nuffield). problems across a wide range of issues associated with being single (e.g. money, housing) having children, and family breakdown, divorce and domestic violence. Trust and non judgemental approach: value speaking to someone who understands their situation. particularly where there is domestic violence or a child-related problem NCT Manifesto 6. The ability to access adequate income while also being active parents to their young children
“ It was a relief – panic had set in – I hadn’t started on anything like maternity leave or benefits. The information isn’t widely out there – you have to go out and look for it”.
NCT manifesto 5.The chance for all parents to make their own support networks Join a group, drop in or class during pregnancy, reduce risks of feeling lonely isolated and depressed after having a baby. Evidence supports the view that informal social support can help people negotiate stressful experiences such as childbirth and parenting. Parents mutual self help support groups have a key role to play in strengthening families. 6. The ability to access adequate income while also being active parents to their young children WORKING TOGETHER YOU HAVE THE POWER TO TRANSFORM THE EXPERIENCE of 100,000 mums each year
“ It was a relief – panic had set in – I hadn’t started on anything like maternity leave or benefits. The information isn’t widely out there – you have to go out and look for it”.