Motherhood Meltdown in 2023
Our culture continued to hurl challenges from all directions to mothers in the U.S.
There were 3,745,361 births in the United States in 2023. Our current birth rate in the U.S. is 12.02 births per 1,000 women.
There has been a surge of births to single moms by choice – to women who tend to be older, more educated, and with higher income. Most women (59%) are married when they become mothers. The U.S. has seen a welcome 70% drop in teen births, but big increases in births to unmarried women aged 35-39, and to unmarried moms aged 40-44. One quarter of U.S. families are headed by a single parent, and 80% of single parent headed households are moms.
Breastfeeding continues to be challenging for mothers. Most women (83%) intend to breastfed after birth, but only 58% of infants are breastfed any amount at six months of age. Less than half are breastfed exclusively through three months, and only one quarter are breastfed exclusively through six months age.
Sixty percent of mothers say they did not breastfeed for as long as they intended. Mothers stop breastfeeding early because of problems with milk supply, latching, and concerns about infant weight gain. Many women cite unsupportive work policies, lack of parental leave and lack of family support.
Maternity leave is too short for most mothers with new babies. Currently, the length of maternity leave in the U.S. varies widely depending on mom’s employer, her employment status, and what state she lives in. The average amount of maternity leave in the U.S. is only 10 weeks!
The U.S. lacks a federal paid maternity leave policy. Maternity leave policies vary widely among employers, and many mothers often rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave but doesn't cover all workers or guarantee pay during that time.
Postpartum depression (PPD) remains the most common complication of pregnancy. PPD affects 1 in 8 new mothers in the U.S. Many women experience symptoms of postpartum depression yet do not receive treatment - for this very treatable condition. Family members are often unaware of the signs of PPD: persistent and severe sadness, lack of pleasure, lack of energy, poor sleep, appetite changes, feelings of guilt, unexpected irritability or anger, trouble focusing or making decisions, and withdrawal from friends and family.
Progress was made regarding breastfeeding-friendly workplace policies. Some companies adopted more supportive measures like extended maternity leave, and flexible work schedules to accommodate breastfeeding mothers. The PUMP Act, Providing Urgent Maternal Protections, was signed into law in December 2022. The PUMP Act provides workplace protections for breastfeeding mothers by requiring employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for nursing mothers to express breast milk.
Childcare was a huge concern for working mothers. During 2023, nearly one-fifth of mothers changed jobs or left the workforce, and the top reasons cited were staying at home with children (28%) and lack of childcare (15%). Half of mothers rely on outside childcare and 63% are paying for 30+ hours a week of care. Half of working moms report that the cost of childcare has made them consider leaving the workforce.
Most mothers (58%) are primarily responsible for the duties of running a household and caring for children. Only one third of mothers report shared responsibilities equally with a partner!
Mental health concerns are mothers’ top source of worry. Concerns about their children’s health also plague many mothers. More moms (46%) have sought mental health therapy in 2023, with many attending eleven or more therapy sessions this past year. Their reasons for seeking mental health support continue to be anxiety (32%), depression (12%), relationship (16%), and postpartum issues (15%).
Most moms (72%) feel stressed about finances. This stress is greater for those with household incomes below the median (under $65,000) but persists among those with incomes of $200,000 or more. This means that even among mothers with the highest income households, a majority are stressed about money.
A gender wage gap persists in the U.S. Women earned 83 cents for every dollar earned by white men (the racial group with the highest pay across occupations). Women of color earned even less. This wage gap varied based on other factors, such as occupation.
Women were promoted at work less often than men. During 2023, for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women were promoted. This promotion gap was worse for women of color: only 73 women of color were promoted to manager for every 100 men.
Workplace inflexibility is a problem for most working mothers. It is a crucial benefit for most women, since they still carry out a disproportionate amount of childcare and household work. Indeed, 38 percent of mothers with young children say that without workplace flexibility, they would have had to quit or reduce their work hours.
Working mother burnout is at epidemic levels. For many moms, the constant juggling of work and motherhood responsibilities can lead to burnout—a feeling of overwhelming exhaustion -physically, mentally, and emotionally. Forty-five to fifty percent of mothers report feeling burned out.
Younger women are noticing all these difficulties with motherhood. Gen Z women are delaying motherhood in favor of work and a desire to have a flexible life with protected time for themselves. Gen Z is increasing female labor force participation rates; however, they plan to postpone childbirth and have fewer children than Millennials do/did. Surprisingly, nearly 30% of surveyed generation Z women do not want any kids.
What can YOU do to make a mother’s life a little easier today? Think about it!
Surely there will be plans to “fix” all these issues in the future, especially paid maternity leave.
So many important topics covered here. I felt inspired, frustrated (e.g. gender gap wages persist), and hopeful in reading these points summarized in your article. Thanks for writing and sharing!