Report Finds Maternal Mental Health Has Dropped Since 2016

It’s not exactly a surprise to learn that parents are stressed out. Along with the busy day-to-day of pickups, drop-offs and doctor’s appointments, there’s also the sky-high cost of raising kids. The annual expense of child care alone can look similar to college tuition rates in some states.

But a new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine quantifies the struggle — specifically for mothers. According to the study, "large declines in self-reported mental health" were reported amongst female parents from 2016 to 2023.

"Mental health declines occurred across all socioeconomic subgroups," the study specifies — though single mothers, "those with lower educational attainment, and those with publicly insured children" saw the worst outcomes.

Maternal mental health has dropped

The study analyzes the self-reported mental and physical health outcomes of more than 198,000 female parents — both adoptive and biological — of children up to 17 years of age.

Notably, the percentage of mothers who would describe their mental health as "excellent" dropped from 38.4% in 2016 to just 25.8% in 2023. Additionally, those who responded that their mental health was "fair" or "poor" rose from 5.5% to 8.5%.

There are, however, some silver linings. Over the same period, the percentage of mothers with "good" mental health increased from 18.8% to 26.1%. And the portion who reported they were in "good" physical health also rose from 24.3% to 28.1%, though the share who’d claim "excellent" health dropped from 28.0% to 23.9%. (There were no significant changes in the "fair/poor" physical health category.)

As discussed above, the decline in mental health was noticeable across all subgroups studied. However, single moms, those who’d finished less schooling and those whose children are covered by public insurance — groups that are often already more vulnerable than their counterparts — had significantly lower self-reported physical and mental statuses.

Interestingly, male parents, too, saw similar declines in both physical and mental health during this period — but they still enjoyed "better physical health status and substantially better mental health status during all years studied." The news comes after a 2024 March of Dimes Report Card gave the U.S. a D+ for an alarmingly high preterm birth rate — the third D+ we’ve earned in a row.

Parenting is a challenge — but community can help

Taking care of a whole human being — especially a little one who depends on you for, well, everything — is a challenge under the best of circumstances.

Add in the fact that these days, most households require two full-time working incomes (or more) to make ends meet, inflation, the rising prices of necessary products like homeowners and auto insurance and the isolation many parents report feeling, and it makes sense that so many moms and dads are feeling the burn.

Case in point: In 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General released Parents Under Pressure, an official advisory about the mental health and well-being of American parents. Along with an urge for policy that supports parent-friendly initiatives like child-care financial assistance programs and universal preschool, the pamphlet also calls on the American people to change the cultural narrative around this most important vocation.

"It's time to value and respect time spent parenting on par with time spent working at a paying job, recognizing the critical importance to society of raising children," the advisory reads.

It also urges family, friends and loved ones to pitch in to the communal project that is raising our next generation. "Lending assistance with household chores, child care responsibilities, or running errands" are all accessible ways to help parents, whether you are one yourself or not.

At the very least, check in with the parents around you — and if you’re a parent yourself, reach out for the help you need. Your insurance may cover mental health care, and if not, you can shop around for a policy that does. As lonely as it can feel, parenting is anything but a solitary venture. And when it comes to improving mental health outcomes, even a simple phone call can go a long way.