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Something we already knew, but passing it on, it was on
Today Tonight: REPORTER: Sophie Hull BROADCAST DATE: June 15, 2006 New mums are working 75 hours a week. No-one said new mums
had it easy, but it seems dads might be the last people to realise just how
much is involved in coping with a newborn. The She asked them to record the time they spent on child care,
sleeping and cleaning with an electronic tracking device. The results were staggering. Mums are spending around 75 hours a week working - 60 of
those on childcare. In comparison, fathers were spending just six hours a week
on childcare. "I think any normal person would take a look at a 75
hour week and say that person is over worked," Julie said. "What surprised me was little time they got to
themselves. "They are literally on call and in that first nine
months of the baby's life they are on call 23 hours a day. Julie said mothers got on average one hour a day when they
did not have the main responsibility for the baby. "It's very clear that these are very long hours
creating a lot of stresses for mothers and it's also very clear that those
mothers who's partners were absent from the home were losing a lot of sleep which
is a basic measure of the stresses they're under," Julie said. She said the study results provided a clear message for
dads: "Be there," Julie said. "And do as much of the housework as you can. "The figures are showing that if the father has less
time at work in that first nine months the mother gets more sleep and that's
got to be good for every body." Best
Regards, |
