Who will pay for the babies?

FOR as long as one can remember, Jamaican women have been told that children are a “blessing”, and that somehow, despite one’s economic status or actual ability to parent, families will “manage”. But in 2026, “managing” is becoming increasingly difficult.

The cost of raising a child starts long before the first school uniform. Pregnancy brings doctors’ visits, tests, transportation, supplements and other expenses. Then comes delivery, diapers, baby food, clothing, medication and childcare. As the child grows, so do the bills, in the form of school uniforms, books, transportation, lunch money, extra lessons and extracurricular activities.

For many women, motherhood is no longer just an emotional or personal decision. It is an economic one.

A woman will ask, ‘can I afford daycare? Can I take time off work? Will my employer accommodate me? Can I afford another school bill? What happens if the child’s father does not contribute consistently?’

“These are questions that increasingly have to be considered alongside the desire to have children,” said family counsellor Gabrielle Anderson.

And Jamaica is now having a national conversation about exactly that.

The country’s fertility rate has fallen significantly, prompting concern about Jamaica’s ageing population, future workforce and economic prospects. State and other agencies have acknowledged the issue, and offered and suggested support measures including childcare and maternal support and stronger neonatal services.

“Before Jamaica asks women to have more children, perhaps it needs to ask what it’s prepared to do to make motherhood affordable,” said mother of one and daysworker, Heidi Bramwell, 30. “The cost goes beyond Pampers.”

Jamaica’s national minimum wage is now $17,000 per 40-hour work week. For a low-income mother like Bramwell, that income has to stretch across food, housing, electricity, transportation and everything a child requires.

And childcare can be one of the biggest expenses. A mother may want to return to work after giving birth, but if childcare consumes a large portion of her salary, working can become a difficult financial calculation.

That’s the issue for Shantelle Scott, 28, who has seen it first-hand, having raised her niece, and who refuses to have her own child. She said the alternative of staying home can mean sacrificing income, career progression and future financial security.

“Other countries are putting serious money behind families,” Scott said, highlighting an article she browsed last week about South Korea on social media. “So Jamaica is not alone in worrying about falling birth rates, but countries across the world are trying to make having children more financially attractive, while we’re just talking.”

Singapore, for example, provides cash payments, childcare assistance, healthcare and education support. South Korea has also spent billions on childbirth incentives, parental leave and family support as it battles one of the world’s lowest fertility rates.

“But paying women to have babies doesn’t automatically make them want babies,” Anderson said. “Money can reduce the cost of motherhood, but it can’t remove the fear of becoming a parent.”

So should Jamaica pay women to have babies? “Not necessarily in the form of a cheque for giving birth,” said gender expert Carlissa Farquharson. “The bigger opportunity may be to make raising children less financially punishing.”

She said that could mean affordable childcare, housing assistance school-related assistance and tax relief for families. “It also means recognising that women often bear economic costs that men do not experience in the same way,” she added. “Motherhood can affect not only today’s income, but a woman’s lifetime earning potential.”

She said Jamaica may not have the resources of Singapore or other wealthy countries, but it can still decide that supporting families is an investment rather than simply a welfare expense.

“Before asking women to have more children, policymakers should listen to the women already raising them. Ask what motherhood costs. Ask what they have had to give up. Ask what would make having another child possible. Because while many women do want children, the question is whether they can afford them.”

She said if Jamaica wants more babies, it has to be prepared to help pay for the children those babies will become.