Short Maternity Leave Increases Moms' Depression: Study

It's hardly news to working moms, but for all of those who think women should stay at home with the kids, a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) says working motherhood doesn't adversely affect children or even dramatically increase women's stress levels.

According to the new research, TIME reports, the real issue driving working women's new mom stress -- and the subsequent effects of that stress on their children -- is too little maternity leave.

Mothers with 3-month-old infants who worked full time reported higher rates of depression and stress than mothers who were able to stay home with their newborns.

And it was those first few months that really mattered. Working mothers of six-month-olds still had greater levels of depression than those who stayed at home, but logging full-time hours at the office was no longer associated with a decrease in "parenting quality."

It's only when the mother has to go back to work too quickly that a child's health and emotional well being can suffer, according the study. In the long tun, working actually decreased moms' depression and stress, too.

"Over the first four-and-a-half years of parenting, mothers actually enjoyed an overall reduction in parenting stress if they worked," reports TIME.

The findings are backed up by a similar study from researchers at University College London, who found that there were "no detrimental effects" stemming from women going back to work and that children thrived most when both parents had paid jobs, reports The Telegraph.

Commenting on their findings in TIME, the authors of the American study described its implications:

"The transition back into employment immediately after childbirth is difficult for the average family, detracting from maternal health and increasing self-reported parenting stress. These findings emphasize the need for parental leave policies that allow new parents to take longer leave, and/or work fewer hours in the first few months after childbirth."

The United States is said to be years behind the rest of the world in parental leave policy, according to a Human Rights Watch report released in February.

The report stated that at least 178 countries have national laws guaranteeing paid leave for new mothers, and more than 50 nations, including most Western countries, also guarantee paid leave for new fathers. In the U.S. there are no such laws, only the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees with new children or ill family members to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their job.

The report, titled "Failing Its Families," recommended that Congress enact laws to ensure parents have paid family leave, with sufficient wages and job protection.

Comments

[nikanj]

11:00 PM on 08/14/2011

Once again, the basic presumption of this article is that
'staying home with the kids' does not equate to 'working'.

Sure. Whatever.

We know that it's only 'work' if you get paid in the coin of the realm.
There are women who (surprise !) look forward to 'work' simply
because it's less 'work' than 'staying home with the kids'.
Imagine that.

As a stay-at-home farm mom, I still remember the day a neighbor
came to visit with her two tots. She drove a road grader and made
good money. Her kids were in daycare. High status.

I gardened, cared for the livestock, drove tractor, etc. and made zero money.
My kids were at home, in my and my husband's care. Low status.

As her kids and mine happily banged away on assorted pots and pans while
I fixed lunch, she said, "This makes you appreciate just how hard our babysitters work".
Right.

[Kathy Morelli]

05:58 PM on 08/10/2011

yes, it's such a different case in the United States. It's so sad that our maternal death rate has risen in the past 40 years and that her depression rates have also risen. I would love to see a change in our country where "family values" are truly supported, where mothers and babies can spend some time together, and families aren't so stressed because everyone's got so much to do. Cumulative studies from the health psychology department at UCLA also link a certain type of anxiety on a daily basis during pregnancy to an increased rate of preterm labor and low birth weight and then anxiety and depression after birth. Cumulative stress really does take a toll on maternal mental health and babies.
Here's the link to UCLA http://health.psych.ucla.edu/CDS/

[Themis27]

12:11 PM on 07/22/2011

My job graciously gave me 3 months of maternity leave (the company was too small to be obligated under FMLA) and I was grateful for that. Astoundingly, my husband, who worked for a Canadian-based company in an US office, was only give 3 days! He had to take his vacation time to spend extra time with our baby.

And I"m sorry to bring politics into this, but it raises an excellent point: if the "family first" Repubs are as family-focused as they claim, why not pass some bills giving us more maternity leave?

[Paluxy Moon]

10:20 AM on 07/22/2011

We have a long way to go. Yes, parents should be given time off for newborns. After all, the next generation is needed to support the economy, is it not?! In my own workplace, I've noticed an attitude of "we're tolerating this for the time being" mentality. Only women are "indulged", men dare not ask for time off. There's no guarantee the employee will have the same job when he/she returns.

Medical research indicates that stress affects the embryo while in the womb. And it's this implicit, unspoken attitude of "you're not performing your job" attitude that leads to stress in the expectant mother (and father), which affects the baby during gestation. Our society and economy needs to being to look beyond what's expedient. The embryo experiences every single stress the mother and father experience while in gestation. Somehow, someway, our society needs to incorporate this information.