Mothering in a Post-COVID World
In this report, FCHIP presents up-to-date information about maternal health in the continued pandemic, including mental health and vaccine safety during pregnancy, and describes a number of innovative programs available for new mothers. Download the full report here (.PDF).
Mother’s Day 2022 marks the third Mother’s Day of the COVID pandemic. While many have suffered during these three years, current research now reveals mothers have been particularly impacted by the pandemic. Although women are equally likely to have COVID compared to men, they make up 52.4% of vaccinated Americans. In FCHIP’s third Mother’s Day Report, we recognize the stress mothers have been under and focus on the changes, challenges, joys, and resources for mothers and their families this year.
Postpartum Depression
Compared to pre-pandemic rates, new moms report higher rates of postpartum depression. These rates are especially elevated for mothers concerned about contracting COVID, mothers who had a baby in the NICU, and mothers who bottle instead of breastfed their babies. Higher rates of depression may be related to all of the changes to reduce COVID rates, like social isolation, fewer parent education classes, and changes in hospital visitor rules. Programs that can reduce postpartum depression, such as hospital-based and in-person breastfeeding support programing, may have led to lower rates of breastfeeding. Given the association between breastfeeding and postpartum depression, these lower breastfeeding rates may contribute to increases in postpartum depression.
Maternal Health and Mortality
As U.S. life expectancy dropped due to COVID, maternal mortality increased from 20.1 deaths per 100,000 births in 2019 to 23.8 in 2020. Rates were especially high for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women. COVID risks are also high for women giving birth. Women with COVID have higher rates of mortality and preterm birth, and a range of illnesses including infections compared to women without COVID. Babies are also at higher risks if born to a mother with COVID. Risks for moms depend on race, environment, and education. The current Momnibus Act of 2021 (HR959) is trying to improve health for all new moms, especially those with higher COVID risks, by directing multi-agency efforts to improve maternal health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and other vulnerable populations. The bill addresses the social determinants of maternal health, which include child care, housing, food security, transportation, and environmental conditions.
Mothers and Babies
The Mothers and Babies (MB) program is a component of home visiting that provides mental health resources for pregnant individuals, new parents, and providers. The goal of this program is to help manage stress and prevent postpartum depression. MB provides a toolkit of coping skills to help manage mood and stress while parenting a baby. MB focuses on three specific areas: encouraging more engagement in pleasant activities, promoting healthier ways of thinking, and improving social support. To learn more about home visiting visit ConnecTeen.
COVID Vaccines and Safety Around Pregnancy
Despite the fact that the COVID vaccines have been found not to impact fertility or pregnancy through IVF, women intending to become pregnant or who already are pregnant lag behind the general populations’ 77% (at least partial) vaccination rate. Given the higher COVID risks for mothers during pregnancy, vaccines are especially important. Vaccines are recommended for women who are trying to become pregnant or are currently pregnant and their partners. Vaccines are safe and effective during pregnancy, and during breastfeeding. There is no increased risk of miscarriage, and they help to provide strong immune support for both mothers and infants.
Partnering in the Continued Pandemic
As the COVID-induced isolation of pandemic restrictions ease, social support and typical healthcare services during pregnancy and postpartum are expected. For children, vaccination remains safe, with cases of complications following COVID-19 vaccination, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome, being very rare. Death from COVID-19 has resulted in 5.2 million children losing parents, with three times as many children worldwide (and almost two and a half in the United States) losing a father compared to loss of a mother.
For moms, returning to work is especially challenging, with limited childcare options and difficulties finding alternate care for young children. Parents of older children have to navigate balancing COVID risks with in-person schooling options. Given these challenges, mothers choosing to not work outside the home, or preferring not to is unsurprising.
Changes in Medical Care and Birth Rates
COVID-19 has led to many women delaying seeing doctors, and waiting too long for preventive care, such as regular breast cancer screenings. With less use of medical care, there has been less use of fertility treatments and more difficulty getting access to birth control. Even with difficulties with birth control, birth rates dropped in all states during 2020-2021 to record lows, continuing a trend in lower birthrates before the pandemic.
Making College Accessible to Mothers and Parents
More than 20% of current undergraduate students are also parents. Parent-students are more likely to be people of color and have children preschool-aged or younger. They earn better grades but have high student debt, and they often have difficulty graduating on time because of limited child care availability. Federal programs such as Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) can help by providing financial assistance for childcare to parent-students. Colleges can also partner with Head Start to help eligible student parents access to early learning programs for their children and support for family success.
