How a spot of dusting could help you become a dad

Wives trapped between the demands of work and family are more likely to have children if their husbands share the housework, a survey has found.

A full-time working wife whose partner does a third or more of the domestic chores is 80 per cent more likely to give birth to a first child than one who gets little help, it found.

If the husband shares childcare the chances of a second arrival rises by 50 per cent.

The findings come against a backdrop of steeply-falling birthrates among better-educated women.

The study, funded by the Government's Economic and Social Research Council, said that families where the husband works full-time and the wife stays at home full-time are nearly 50 per cent more likely than working couples to have two children.

Working women are more likely to limit their family to one child.

The old-fashioned housewife lifestyle is now regarded as something of a privilege among women, with those who are forced to work to pay the mortgage envying those who are not.

Surveys show seven out of ten working mothers would like to give up their jobs.

The researchers called for more family-friendly policies from the Government.

Pia Schober, of the London School of Economics, said: "Britain faces the challenge of developing new family arrangements. This is crucial to avoiding low fertility especially among highly-educated women, while ensuring the high female labour market participation required for welfare state sustainability.

"There is a need for policies that allow traditional choices as well as modern alternatives to how families can combine earning and caring."

Campaigners have called for reforms that would allow a mother to transfer her income tax allowance to her husband while she brings up the children.