The reason behind the decision has been attributed to the increased living costs like rising bills, petrol prices, food inflation and job insecurity, the Daily Express reported.
A study on 2,412 childless couples found they had decided to delay having children for an average of two years and three months.
According to the study, many other couples fear that it could take them as many as four years before they could afford to start a family.
"The credit crunch has had a devastating effect on traditional family structures. People are earning less than ever compounded by fears over job security," a spokesman for Skipton Building Society, which carried out the study, said.