Calls to double maternity pay as North Yorkshire mums are feared to be missing meals
There's concern that some women are cutting short their maternity leave or even skipping meals
The Government is being urged to double maternity pay so mothers are not forced back to work too early.
Unison and Maternity Action said the statutory weekly amount should be increased to ÂŁ364.70.
Both organisations voiced concern that some women are cutting short their maternity leave, skipping meals and making other “drastic” choices because they cannot afford to live on the current statutory weekly amount.
Women should receive the equivalent of the national minimum wage of ÂŁ10.42 an hour, ministers were told.
A recent survey by Maternity Action on behalf of Unison showed that a quarter of women on maternity leave say they have gone without eating – sometimes all day – so they can afford to feed their families.
The survey of 1,400 mothers in the UK who had taken maternity leave found that half said they were buying less-healthy food to save money and more than a third were skipping meals or having smaller portions.
"I've skipped meals to save money"
Danielle Cooper runs her own pottery painting business in Tadcaster: "I came back to work after only four weeks after having a C section for the first time, it's my third baby so not my first baby, but I have to have the kids in the shop quite often and it was really really hard to come back that early but I didn't have a choice."
"I had to come back against doctors wishes and orders and clay is heavy and kiln shelves they are very heavy so I had to have some help with doing all that stuff and yeah, it's not good."
"I just wasn't eating, one because I was so busy but also you are not feeling that great so no you shouldn't be going back to work that early, I was pushing my body and my mental well being to the max really."
"Formula is expensive...electricity is expensive, petrol is expensive everything is through the roof including groceries so definitely I've skipped meals to save money."
Statutory Maternity Pay is available for up to 39 weeks and is 90% of the mother’s average weekly earnings before tax for the first six weeks and then the lower amount of either £172.48 or 90% of their average weekly earnings for the next 33 weeks.
The Government is forcing many women to choose between work and family
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Everyone is feeling the impact of escalating living costs, but it’s hitting new mums particularly hard.
“No mother should have to go without food or skip meals but the failure of maternity pay to keep up with increasing living costs is driving many pregnant workers and new mothers into severe financial hardship.
“The Government is effectively forcing many women to choose between work and family.
“They must raise maternity leave pay to ensure no one is penalised for having a baby.”
Maternity Action director Ros Bragg said: “Mothers shouldn’t be forced to cut short their maternity leave because they can’t make ends meet.
“This is an important time for women to recover from the birth and bond with their baby.
“Women should be reducing their stress levels during pregnancy and their child’s first year, not worrying about how to pay for essentials.
“Stress during pregnancy puts women at increased risk of post-natal depression and other mental health conditions.
“The Government should be supporting pregnant women and new mothers to live healthy lives, not leaving them struggling to keep their house warm and eat a balanced diet.”