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Diva
updated 4 Sep 2009, 00:48
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Mon, Aug 31, 2009
Diva
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It's more satisfying to be a mother than worker

Despite our nation's total fertility rate being at a dismal low of 1.28, 75 per cent of Singaporean women who do have babies say they find it satisfying to be a mum.

Among Singaporean mums, the number of women who find satisfaction in their roles as mothers was higher than the total average of 62 per cent across all the countries included in the study.

This finding - among others - were revealed in a study done by Grey Group. The study was conducted across 16 countries in Asia that included Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Philippines, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.

However, it is the mums in the developing markets such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who derive more satisfaction from their motherhood roles than women in more affluent markets such as Taiwan and Japan.


Me first, until the children come along

Before becoming mothers, women often adopted a 'me first' attitude, spending their income on their own fashion, appearance, social engagements and focusing their attention on work. But family will come first if children did come along and other plans are placed on the backburner.

But deriving more satisfaction out of their parenting roles did not mean less stress for the women, as many non-working mothers find that they have no choice but to return to or enter the workforce as raising children in a modern-day environment necessitated dual-income households, when they would rather be at home to witness the growth and development of their children.

In Singapore, 94 per cent of the women surveyed shared this sentiment, which was only slightly higher than the total Asian average of 89 per cent.

But upon going to work, mothers across Asia feel that they do not spend enough time with their children, as they are often too busy.

Another finding that may not be so surprising is that the availability of social support for mothers is strongly linked to their satisfaction levels.


Level of satisfaction felt coincides with support from social structure

In countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, the level of satisfaction correlated with the perceived amount of support the women felt they received from society.

In these countries, satisfaction levels reached more than 80 per cent, whereas in more developed economies such as Taiwan, Japan and Korea, less than 20 per cent of mums felt they received adequate support from society and satisfaction levels were less than 30 per cent.

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