ABSTRACT
Tennyson Over the past 20 years there has been a massive increase in the numbers of women working full time within one year of having a baby-from 5 per cent to 24 per cent. If part-time work is included the figure goes up to 67 per cent (Labour Market Trends, 2002). In other countries, such as Sweden, which have legislation protecting the income level and position in the workforce of mothers, there is a downward trend, with fewer babies in out-of-home care (Deven and Moss, 2002; Moss, 2001), but in Britain, despite a recent modest improvement in provision for maternity and parental leave, the trend is the other way.
