One in three cannot afford to have children as new poll gives insight into women's health

Irish Examiner Women's Health Survey 2025: Poll of more than 1,000 women gives unique insight into women's health in Ireland today

Family sizes continue to fall, with just half of mothers with a single child saying they would like to have a second. The average Irish family is now 2.29 children

A third of women cannot afford to have a baby, or another child, with younger women in particular forced to put family plans on hold.

One in three also said they would delay having children because of their career or until they have reached certain financial goals, according to an Irish Examiner Ipsos B+A national opinion poll.