The Hits host Toni Street responds to backlash over maternity leave

The Hits host Toni Street is preparing to welcome her baby boy via surrogate in August.

The latest addition will be the seasoned broadcaster's third child and the first for the family via a surrogate, her close friend Sophie Braggins.

Of course, with a new baby comes the decision on how much maternity leave to take.

Yesterday Street revealed on air that she was shocked at people's reactions when she shared that she was planning to take the rest of the year off work to look after her newborn.

"I just feel like it is a sad day that people are surprised that you might take six months," said Street, discussing the issue with her morning show co-hosts Sam Wallace and Sarah Gandy. "I feel like if you want to spend six months with your precious newborn that should be a good thing and it shouldn't be against the norm."

She went on to note that compared to how things were five to 10 years ago, it seems the trend these days is for women - especially career women - to be expected to get back to work as soon as possible.

Even Prime Minister Jacinda Arden - who is due to give birth next month - has decided to take just six weeks away from her political post.

The discussion left Street questioning if the pressure we put on new mums to get back to work is too much. And she acknowledged that for some it may be unaffordable to be away from their job for an extended period of time.

View this post on Instagram

Easter Sunday with my besties and the bump 💙 @sophie_braggins @michaelbraggins @mjfrance09 #4monthstogo

A post shared by Toni Street (@tonimstreet) on Apr 1, 2018 at 2:04am PDT

Street also reiterated to her listeners that she would "hate for people to feel pressured into going back when they could afford to stay on maternity leave and they want to stay longer".

She said six months or more spent on maternity leave "is seen as the luxury option now", but disagreed with that view.

This story originally appeared on The Hits and was republished with permission.