Two thirds of parents in Scotland are leaving their jobs or reducing their hours due to the cost and availability of childcare. 

That's according to "truly shocking" new data published on Friday (October 20) by Pregnant Then Screwed, looking at the cost of being a parent currently. 

It also found 43 per cent of parents who had seen their childcare costs rise in the last 10 months said they couldn't afford to have any more children.

Carole Erskine, head of policy at the charity, said: “That there is a price on being a parent today is brutal.

"It is truly shocking that almost two-thirds of parents are being forced to reduce their hours or leave the workforce entirely due to the cost and availability of childcare, and there is no end in sight.

"As a result, many parents can’t afford to have the children that they would like to have. Nurseries aren’t to blame for these costs; they are continuing to buckle under the financial pressures of underfunding."

Read more: Humza Yousaf to announce free childcare expansion in Scotland

She called for more investment in the childcare sector in Scotland to "put families first". 

The survey asked 1,129 parents questions about the state of childcare in Scotland and the impact it is having on them and their families. 

Meanwhile, a quarter are having to rely on family and friends for childcare, and 17 per cent of parents have had to cut down on essential items, including heating, clothing and food.

As a result, one in five (22 per cent) parents have had to use credit cards or borrow money - taking them into debt just to get by.
 
The impact is hitting parents from the get-go, with 65 per cent of mothers with a child under 12 months saying they either have already or will have to cut their maternity leave short due to cost of living pressures.

Read more: Women struggling as Stirling nursery cuts childcare hours

One in five of these mothers are only able to take six months of their planned leave, the survey found, and for one in 10 mothers (10 per cent), they will have to return in fewer than four months of maternity leave.

This stress is piling on to parents, with more than half of parents (55 per cent) revealing they currently have high levels of anxiety with issues relating to money.

Part of the challenge that parents are facing in Scotland is nursery closures, with almost one in ten parents (eight per cent) experiencing the closure of a childcare setting that they were using in the last 12 months, compared to 6.8 per cent in England.

And a lack of availability is another issue, as 34 per cent of parents said their local provider has a waiting list of 10 months or more. This figure drops to 25 per cent for the rest of the UK.