How to prepare financially for having a baby

HERE THREE FINANCIAL EXPERTS EXPLAIN WHAT ALL PARENTS-TO-BE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT BEFORE AND AFTER A NEW BABY ARRIVES

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ALTHOUGH finding out you're having a baby can be a joyous time, it can also bring anxiety particularly from a financial point of view.

Because not only does adding a new life to the family incur extra expenses, it also means the mother is likely to be on maternity leave from work for an extended period, which means there'll be much less money coming in.

Jackie Spencer from the Money and Pensions Service, a government-sponsored body which runs MoneyHelper to provide free and impartial financial guidance, explains that Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is available to women who earn at least £125 a week and have worked for their employer continuously for at least 26 weeks.

SMP is 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax for the first six weeks, followed by either £187.18 or 90% of your average weekly earnings whichever is lower for the remaining 33 weeks.

In addition, employers may offer enhanced maternity pay alongside SMP.

And self-employed women may get up to 39 weeks Maternity Allowance instead of SMP, at a standard rate of £139.58 a week.

Such benefits clearly mean less money is coming in to new parents' households. The 2025 Cost of Living on Maternity Leave survey, from Maternity Action, found that out of 1,176 pregnant women and new mothers, just 3% of respondents didn't worry at all about money during their pregnancy or maternity leave.

Some 17% struggled “a lot” to buy things they needed, and 55% borrowed money or used credit cards to financially support themselves while on maternity leave, resulting in debt.