Why US women are leaving their jobs for their families

New York

SINCE Kerry Devine, 32, and her friends began having children, she has noticed a stark difference between her female friends in Auburn, Washington, where she lives, and those in England and Cyprus, where she grew up. In the United States, they almost all stopped working outside the home, at least until their children were in school. Yet, she says, she can't think of a friend in Europe who left work after her children were born.

Mrs Devine quit her job after she had her first child, a girl, four years ago, because she thought 12 weeks of maternity leave was too short. "I just didn't want to leave her in day care or pay for the expenses of it," she said. When she gave birth to twin boys this year, a return to work - she had been a property manager for apartment buildings - looked even less plausible.