Mental Health of Mothers of Young Children
Raising a child is a high-stress task, and especially during the early years of baby and toddler care. Mothers of young children often report depressive symptoms, but research has not confirmed the source of the depressive symptoms.
A recent study sought to determine whether there are associations between maternal and mental health and the stressors related to social and financial factors and child health care access. Mistry, Stevens, Sareen, Vogli, and Halfon published a study in 2006 that examined these factors and their effects on the mental health of mothers.
Data for the study was collected from the National Survey of Early Childhood Health (NSECH), a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey done by telephone. The participants were the parents of 2,068 children aged 4 to 35 months. The questions were administered by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Parents were asked about mental health, specifically focusing on depressive and anxiety symptoms. They were also asked about social factors, such as whether the parents had emotional support (someone they could turn to for day-to-day emotional help with parenting) and whether they had functional support (someone they could count on to watch their child if they needed a break).
The respondents were also asked about financial aspects of their parenting, such as whether they had trouble paying for such items as prenatal care during pregnancy, medical expenses, formula, food, diapers and clothing, and child care.
The study found that parenting stress factors related to both social and financial elements and child health care were commonly reported. More than one third of all respondent mothers reported one or more social or financial stressors associated with poor mental health. Mothers who reported both social and financial stressors were especially at risk for poor mental health.
The mothers who lacked emotional support and also had trouble paying for child care were at a high risk for poor mental health. Those who had little functional support and reported spending too much time with their child also were at a high risk for poor mental health.
The results of this study offer information to multiple venues serving mothers of young children. Healthcare providers and employers may need to establish policies that provide low-cost access to healthcare for young children to reduce the stressors and causes of depressive symptoms in mothers of young children.
The information is also helpful in allowing families and other community members of the need for emotional and functional support for mothers of young children during the first few years of parenting.
