Beyond the Hashtag: Why Maternal Mental Health Needs More Than Just One Month
Every May, my phone starts dinging with reminders: it’s Maternal Mental Health Month. There are hashtags, campaigns, and heartfelt posts on social media encouraging moms to speak up, rest more, and seek help if they’re struggling. And then June rolls around. The spotlight fades, the awareness banners disappear, and for many moms, the struggle continues quietly.
The truth is that maternal mental health in general doesn’t follow a calendar. It doesn't peak in May and resolve in June. The emotional weight that moms carry (sometimes visible but often invisible) is a year-round reality. And new data shows it’s not just a fleeting concern. It’s a growing crisis.
The reality behind the smiles
A major study published in JAMA Internal Medicine this year examined mental and physical health data from nearly 200,000 mothers across the U.S. The findings are sobering. The percentage of moms reporting “excellent” mental health dropped from 38.4% in 2016 to just 25.8% in 2023. During the same time, those reporting “fair” or “poor” mental health rose significantly from 5.5% to 8.5%.
This wasn’t just among moms with newborns or toddlers. It included moms of kids all the way up to age 17. And the decline in mental health affected moms across every age group, income bracket, and family type.
What’s even more eye opening is that this trend started before the pandemic. COVID certainly strained already exhausted parents, but this crisis has deeper roots and unfortunately it's still unfolding.
It’s not just you. It’s the system.
If you’re a mom reading this and thinking, "Something just feels off lately," you're in good company. There are many forces at play here. Some are personal (e.g., the sleep deprivation, role changes, and the mental load of parenting). But others are are more societal (like the rising costs of living, limited access to mental health care, lack of paid family leave, and cultural pressures to “do it all”).
The data from this study showed that mothers who were single, had lower levels of education, or had publicly insured or uninsured children were more likely to report poor mental health. That’s not about individual failure. That’s a system-wide problem.
And still, even moms with access and privilege aren’t immune. Maternal burnout doesn’t discriminate. It creeps in through constant caregiving, isolation, and the relentless expectation to be “okay.”
The invisible burden of motherhood
What we often miss in conversations about maternal mental health is the weight of what’s unseen. I’m talking about the emotional labor, the middle-of-the-night worrying, and the managing of everyone’s needs while yours stay buried at the bottom of the list. Even when everything looks fine, many moms are walking around with grief, anxiety, or overwhelm. They do fine at work, they smile and make small talk at the playground, and they show up for their families. All of this while privately feeling like the other shoe is about to drop. And here’s the catch – when a mom’s mental health suffers, it doesn’t stay contained. It affects child development, family dynamics, and even long-term health outcomes for everyone in the household. I’m not writing this to make people feel bad. I’m writing this to underline just how important maternal well-being truly is.
The problem with “self-care” as a solution
If we want to get serious about maternal mental health, we have to stop offering bubble baths as a cure for burnout. Yes, self-care is important, but it's not a substitute for mental health care. Moms need real support systems. Access to therapy. Assessments when something feels off. Validation that what they’re experiencing is legitimate and just something they should accept as “mom life.”
High-functioning moms tend to mask their struggles. They tell themselves it’s not bad enough to warrant getting help. Or they fear being judged. Or they’ve already tried reaching out and were met with long waitlists or high costs. The path to healing isn’t paved with scented candles. It’s shaped by real conversations, practical support, and access to meaningful care that meets moms where they are.
What we do during the other 11 months matters too
Maternal Mental Health Month is important. It raises visibility. It starts conversations. But it can’t be the only time we talk about this. We need systems that support moms throughout the entire year. That means things like:
Making mental health check-ins just as routine as blood pressure checks. Ideally we’d talk about this early and often starting from pregnancy and carrying on through every stage of parenting.
Expanding access to therapists, psychologists, and neuropsychological evaluators who understand maternal mental health.
Pushing for policies that actually make life easier for moms, like better parental leave, affordable childcare, and more flexible work options.
And yes, making space in everyday life for moms to ask for help (without any shame attached).
Moms deserve support, not just survival
If you're a mom reading this and you’ve been quietly struggling, I’d like to give you a gentile reminder that you don’t have to wait for a crisis to ask for help. Whether it’s reaching out to a therapist, asking your doctor for a referral, or even just talking to a friend, the first step can be small and still pay off significantly. In other words, you don’t need to be falling apart to deserve care.
If you’re a provider, a friend, or a partner, keep asking the moms in your life how they’re really doing. Not just in May but in the messy middle of any given week.
Let’s honor maternal mental health not just as a moment but rather a movement
The maternal mental health crisis isn’t going to be fixed by awareness months alone. It will take consistent care, cultural shifts, and systems that actually support moms all year round.
To end on something hopeful – things can change. Moms can feel more grounded, more supported, and less alone. So let’s keep talking about this – next month, next season, next year, and beyond.
