Can I afford to have a child?

I just spotted this piece in the Irish Times about whether finance plays a factor in deciding whether to have kids or not. It's short but raises some interesting points. In my experience, finance tends not to be the overall deciding factor in making the decision for women but it does often come up when we explore fears of having children. Losing financial independence or of not being able to provide for a child financially can be a fear for women - but often when we explore the reality clients find that this tends to be 'the voice of the sabateur'.