One year ago Rachel O'Brien, 30, gave up work as a teacher to be a stay-at-home mum to her nine-month-old daughter.

Here Rachel explains why she is proud of being a full-time mother - and why housewives deserve more credit.

Are housewives really desperate?

To me, this light-hearted issue of the moment seems closely linked to something more serious: the low social status of stay-at-home mums - the unspoken understanding that it is better for child care to be provided by professionals than by parents.

The Government has revamped its child care allowance policy so parents are financially reimbursed if they pay a professional to look after their child while they go back to work. But mothers who opt to leave their employment and care for their children themselves will receive no extra support or payment.

Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead, commented that this is indicative of "the downgrading, to the point of irrelevance, of the role of full-time motherhood".

It seems being a full-time mother is considered inferior to one who goes out to work. I am a full-time mother and I am not ashamed of it.

The question that sits most uneasily with me when I introduce my daughter to old acquaintances is: "Are you going back to work?"

This is not because I am embarrassed by what I do, but because I know it is undervalued and looked down upon.

I am not living up to the image of the modern woman who works full-time, bringing up 2.4 children while juggling balls of fire and playing a musical instrument. I find myself unable to respond with a simple "No."

I find myself mumbling out a string of justifications: "Not for now, I'm just enjoying looking after her ... we're hoping to have more soon … I have no plans." I have full sympathy for mothers who answer "Yes". I have been told they are also filled with feelings of guilt and selfishness for not spending enough time with their children, for placing the desire to earn money above their offspring. But much has been written about the dilemma of being a working parent - this is my chance to argue the case of the stay-at-home-mum. Staying at home with my baby has not turned out to be the marathon of daytime TV many young, free singletons might imagine, but it does have its good points. First and foremost is the sound of my baby's laugh. I know this sounds horribly cheesy to non-parents, but I cannot apologise - it is true. This morning she was on my knee and grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled so hard my eyes watered. She laughed with pure delight just at the feel of my hair in her hands. Witnessing this brings back some of my own ability to laugh at innocent, silly things. How many laughs and smiles would I miss if I spent my days at work?

Being with my daughter every day means I know everything about her; what she likes to eat and what she stores in her mouth ready to spit out and that she can only sleep with a particular teddy resting on her head.

Soon enough she'll have parts of her life that will not involve me, and at least I know that I'll have these early days of closeness to look back on forever. Hopefully, even in her babyhood, I can instill some sense of the goodness and loving. I can begin to impress upon her she is beautiful, unique and loved. I do not have to rely on others to do these things, and worry about whether they do them well enough.

Of course, as with any job or vocation there are bad days. My baby also cries, screams and sulks, particularly when I want to spend a bit of time doing something for myself rather than for her. Most mothers who work claim they need the money. I am fortunate. My husband earns just enough to keep us going, but we have had to give up luxuries like holidays for a while, cut back on mortgage repayments and become a one-car family. Budgeting is not the hardship it at first appears - it can be fun.

We are living a 1950s existence - my husband gives me the money and I try to have some left after the housekeeping expenses. We have both decided I should not work because it is best for our child, but I still have feelings of guilt and selfishness about managing on one salary.

And sometimes the sameness of the baby routine gets to you. This is probably made worse by a lack of adult company. There is no network of mums who pop into each others houses like some 1960s TV programme, not where I live anyway. Perhaps we modern housewives are in hiding.

My main worry about giving up work before our daughter was born was that I would become boring: that I would no longer be able to take part in a conversation that did not centre around nappies or pureed vegetables.

However, I do not think this has happened. If motherhood does nothing else it makes you less self-absorbed, and in my experience the people who are the most interested in others are the least boring ones.

I'm not asking for extra money for stay-at-home mums or anything like that. All I want is for the role of the housewife to be treated with a bit of respect. I for one am pleased to be a full-time mother, and I'm looking forward to the day when I do not have to justify taking pride in what I am.

The Journal: Today's Voice of the North