Mothers lose an average of £65,618 in pay by the time their first child turns five, as the “motherhood penalty” risks their financial security, official figures show.Mums in England are hit by a “substantial and long-lasting reduction” in their pay after they have children, as they become less likely to stay in paid employment, the Office for National Statistics have said.It found that women’s average monthly earnings had fallen by 42%, or £1,051 per month, five years after the birth of their first child, compared with their pay one year before the birth.This equates to a loss of £65,618 over five years, according to the analysis, which tracked pay data from 2014 to 2022. On average, there is an additional £26,317 loss after the birth of a second child, and then a further £32,456 after the birth of a third child.Rachel Grocott, the chief executive of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, said mothers were being “punished for caring, sidelined at work, and expected to just absorb the cost”.“And the more children you have, the deeper the drop. It’s not a gentle decline – it’s a financial freefall resulting in financial loss of over £100,000 for a mother of three children,” she said.Joeli Brearley, the chief executive of the back to work consultancy Growth Spurt, said the drop in earnings was “catastrophic for women’s quality of life”.“Money is freedom, and stripping women of that freedom because they became mothers is nothing short of scandalous,” she said.