Financial pressures and career considerations are causing new mothers to cut short their maternity leave and return to the workplace early.

Only four in ten (39%) new mothers take advantage of their full maternity leave entitlement, according to new research from ING Direct.

Money, or a lack of it, appears to be the main reason for rushing back to the workplace, with more than half (51%) of mums citing financial considerations as a key motive for cutting short their maternity leave.

Babies are expensive, with living costs estimated at £1,086 a month during maternity leave. That’s more than £6,500 over the full six months, requiring a pre-tax income of just over £15,000. One in twenty (5%) say that the expense deterred them from starting a family until later in life.

The flight back to the workplace means that government proposals to extend maternity leave from six to nine months could fall on deaf ears - nearly a third (29%) of women who are planning to have a baby say they would not take advantage if this benefit passes into law. The situation is no different for fathers either, who under the proposals would be entitled to some of the paid and/or unpaid leave.

The desire to return to the office is particularly strong among high earning women. More than half (55%) of mothers on salaries of £30,000 or more say that love for their job lured them back to the workplace early. Unfortunately, job satisfaction isn’t the only driver. More than a third (32%) of these high-flying women also say that their employers ‘needed’ them to return to the office early.

Commenting on the findings, ING Direct CEO Lindsay Sinclair, said: "Our research shows that more and more women are choosing to return to work early, with many mentioning the high financial cost of having a child as an important reason."

"We’ve also discovered that only one in five (21%) of those planning to have a baby have savings in place to fund them through this expensive time."

"It’s vital that people who are planning a family think about the financial consequences and save accordingly. Good financial planning should mean that new mums won’t have to cut their maternity leave short."