Even if my husband could have stayed home with my daughter I would not have been happy to miss out on that. I wanted a child and wanted to be with her. I nursed her for the first year - whcih automatically means I have to be with her. Looking after an infant is, frankly, very tediuos sometimes and I think of my family and work as food and water - you need both and I can't ditch one for the other. I would go out of my mind as a full-time mum but the bottom line is that my family comes first. Fortunately my supervisor has no problem with that so I am lucky there.

I had three small children when I started my PhD. They are still quite young now - 5,8,12. I am finding it very difficult to fit working full time with childcare responsibilities. Even when they start school there are endless holidays, inset days, sick days etc. Employment practices in GB are not family friendly - but it can be done with a lot of compromise and co-operation between you and your other half.