MOTHER MATH
1.50: The average number of children a woman aged 15 to 49 will have in her lifetime (as compared to 1.69 20 years ago or 3.76 forty years ago).
5: The odds that a single mom will be a low income earner, as compared to other moms.
8: The number of minutes it takes for a mother rabbit to give birth to a litter of ten bunnies in the wild, according to New York Times' science writer Natalie Angier. Over the next 25 days, that same mother rabbit will spend a grand total of 2 minutes per day attending to her litter. (Her breasts squirt out milk in sprinkler-like fashion.) At that point, her mothering duties are wrapped up as far as that litter is concerned. Net maternal expenditure? Less than 1 hour of mothering for all ten offspring.
9: The average number of times you can expect your kids to nag you for a particularly product before they give up or you give in. Need some ammunition to help you hold your ground? Download a free copy of the new edition of Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture from Newdream.org.
22%: The increased likelihood that your child will be physically active if you are physically fit, according to Mothers in Motion (www.caaws.ca/mothersinmotion/).
32: The percentage of moms surveyed by the U.S. research firm David Burnett and Associates who indicated that their choices of baby brands are influenced by their childbirth instructor.
40%: The percentage of Canadian moms who cite a lack of time as their number one reason for having sex less often than they did before they had kids. Other reasons given for letting sex slip down the “to do” list? Fatigue (a problem for 35% of moms) and interruptions (an issue for 32% of moms). Hey, it’s hard to get in the mood when someone keeps calling “Mommy!” Source: Minera Parenthood and Sexuality Survey.
45%: The percentage of mothers interviewed by Brown University researchers at an infant colic clinic who reported symptoms of "moderate to severe" depression. The researchers, who reported on their findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies' 2006 meeting, recommend that mothers of colicky babies be screened for symptoms of postpartum depression.
50%: The percentage of Canadian moms spend an hour or more each school night helping their kids with homework, according to a recent study by Tetra Pak.
70%: The percentage of mothers who visit social networking websites. Moms are much more likely to visit sites which allow moms to swap ideas and information with other moms and to state their opinions on products than to passively digest "expert opinions." They're spending less time at "first generation" parenting websites and more time at "second generation" parenting websites which offer greater opportunities for mom-to-mom networking.
70%: The percentage of pregnant women who experience a heightened sensitivity to odors such as cigarette smoke, coffee, and perfume during early pregnancy.
74%: The percentage of moms who have their own email accounts (a major shift from the early days of the Internet when entire families tended to share a single account). Those days are clearly gone for good: 44% of moms report having two separate email addresses. Source: Lucid Marketing and BSM Media.
75%: The percentage of characters in the 101 top-grossing G-rated children's films released between 1990 and 2004 that were male, according to a study conducted by SeeJane.org.
77%: The percentage of adoptive mothers who reported experiencing post-adoption depression. Post-adoption depression can range from mild (comparable to "the postpartum blues") to severe (comparable to postpartum depression).
81% percent of Canadian moms aged 18 to 40 confess to having forgotten an important appointment like a meet-the-teacher night or a birthday—even someone’s wedding, according to a study conducted by electronic organizer manufacturer Palm Canada.
97%: The percentage of moms-to-be who report experiencing sleep-related problems during late pregnancy.
3,000,000: The asking price (in dollars) for the domain name moms.com.
3,000,000,000: The size (in dollars spent annually) of the U.S. market for fertility-related products and services by 2004, according to Debora L. Spar, author of The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2006, $36.95).