• Name: Lara Allen
• PhD Programme: GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership
• Type of study: Full-time
• University: University of Bristol
• Children: Two children, one aged two-years old and one aged four-months
• Childcare: Two-year-old attends nursery three days a week
• Stipend: £1500 per month
• Nursery fees: £650-750* per month

*Since taking part in our initial interview in February 2024, Lara has returned from maternity leave with her second child, meaning that her childcare costs from May 2024 have almost doubled to between £1200-1400 per month.

Lara’s Story:

“My two-year-old attends nursery for three days a week and, across the other two days, I balance work and childcare. I’m currently on maternity leave with my 4-month-old, however, before leave I would typically work from 4:30a.m in the morning every day. On the days my daughter wasn’t in nursery, I would look after her all day and work during her naptimes. Often, I’d need to catch-up at the weekend.

While I’m grateful that my PhD is flexible, and that I can work the hours that suit me, I feel a lot of pressure to constantly be either working or looking after my children. I’m investing a lot of time, energy and resources into my PhD. When I started, it felt like a sensible decision. However, since having children, I’ve seriously considered quitting several times because the drain on my resources is so extensive. I love the work, and I love research, but it just doesn’t seem financially viable at times.

There has been a lot of pressure on my home life, and, at one point, we even had to live with my brother and his girlfriend to try and save money. This meant four adults and a baby all living in one house, which was difficult to manage. My husband is a Post Doc and we’d like to save for a deposit for our own house, but it’s hard to save as all our money goes towards either childcare or rent. My parents have helped me financially, and they were the only reason we could have a second child whilst I continue my PhD, but I feel guilty about using their retirement money.

When I come back from maternity leave, this time, I’d like to be able to try to find a job that would meet the requirements to qualify for 15 free childcare hours per week, but I’ll need to go part-time with my PhD in order to be able to dedicate that much time to paid work. I really want to finish my PhD, as I’ve spent so much time and effort on it so far – it’s been a huge part of my life – and I really hate to think that it’s something that I’ve done to the detriment of my family.

Any childcare support would make a huge difference to parents who want to be studying for PhDs and would really take the pressure off. Being able to access some form of support, such as the 30 free hours of childcare, would make a huge difference to us as a family.

My experience of studying for a PhD has been tarnished by childcare and money worries. I haven’t been able to connect effectively with my peers, because I need to spend that time either working on my PhD or caring for my children. I seriously don’t know if I would have started my PhD had I known we would have two children and then not be eligible for support with childcare costs. I only keep going because I know I’ve invested so much in my research, so far, and I really want to finish. My PhD has been a valuable experience for me, but this doesn’t offset the financial costs and the worries that have gone along with this.”

*Content correct as of February 2024. Since taking part in our initial interview, Lara has returned from maternity leave with her second child, meaning that her childcare costs from May 2024 have almost doubled to between £1200-1400 per month.