A SCOTS woman says she decided to have an abortion due to soaring living costs.
Hannah*, who wishes to remain anonymous, told how she and her partner cannot afford to have a second child until they are in a “better position” financially.
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The mum-of-one had to put her “thoughts and feelings aside” and make the choice due to the rising price of essentials such as baby formula and nappies.
She explained that raising her daughter and funding her nursery place is already expensive – with the bill coming in at £900 a month for three days a week.
Hannah told STV News: “When I fell pregnant again I had to think about the fact I was going to be working just to cover childcare costs.
“You want to give your kids the best life you can.
“It just felt like it wasn’t going to be worth it. I wasn’t going to be able to treat the kids, I wouldn’t have had time with them.
“We had to take our feelings and thoughts out of it as say objectively we cannot afford to have this child.
“We had to make the choice it was not something we can do.”
According to research by Pregnant Then Screwed, 4 in 10 (37.9%) women in Scotland who have terminated a pregnancy say the cost of childcare was the primary reason behind their decision.
Meanwhile, 4 in 5 (83.7%) mothers say they often feel childcare costs are the same or more than their income – meaning some parents are in fact, paying to work.
And a quarter of parents (27.8%) are in an impossible situation where they have to choose between paying for childcare and buying essential items.
Hannah added: “It’s already so expensive to bring up a kid – the food, the milk, the nappies, the supplies.
“So it doesn’t surprise me at all that people are choosing not to because of financial reasons.”
Carole Erskine, Head of Policy & Campaigns in Scotland from Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “The government is desperate for families in Scotland to have more babies, but our research shows that many parents simply can’t afford to have children due to the ever-spiralling costs of childcare.
“If we do not see increased investment into the sector, more parents will be forced to make the heartbreaking decision to abort wanted children, leave work, or forgo essential items because of the cost of childcare.
“Having children is becoming a luxury item for many, and we need to nip this in the bud fast for the sake of our economy. Parents cannot pay to go to work; it doesn’t make financial sense, but as things stand, many have no other choice.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “A women’s right to choose is a deeply personal issue and there are a wide range of reasons why different women may seek an abortion. The Scottish Government will look carefully at the full findings of this research once it is published.
“Scotland is the only part of the UK to already offer 1,140 hours a year of funded early learning and childcare to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds (equivalent to 30 hours per week in term time) regardless of their parents’ working status – putting children first.
“This offer has been in place since 2021 and, if families paid for this themselves, it would cost them around £5,800 per eligible child per year.
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“We recognise that supporting families through high quality, affordable and accessible childcare is critical to our national mission to tackle child poverty.
“We will continue our work to develop an expanded national offer for more families with two-year-olds, and progress work with early adopter communities in six local authorities to develop local systems of funded childcare for families who need it most.”