Motherhood in America, 2023: Only One in Four Feels at her Peak
Key Snapshot
Out of nearly two hundred thousand mothers tracked between 2016 and 2023, fewer than 26 percent now say their mental health is “excellent,” while those rating their physical wellbeing at the top level slipped below 24 percent. JAMA Internal Medicine released the detailed findings this week.
How the Nation’s Moms Graded Their Health
- 38 % → 26 % … mothers calling mental health “excellent”
- 19 % → 26 % … mothers labeling mental health merely “good”
- 5 % → 9 % … mothers reporting “fair” or “poor” mental health
- 28 % → 24 % … mothers rating physical health “excellent”
Physical Scores Barely Sagged
The share of women placing physical wellbeing in the “good” bracket edged up to 28 percent, but the “fair-to-poor” cohort stayed flat, suggesting stress weighed heaviest on the mind.
Struggles Uneven Across Zip Codes and Household Types
The drop in mental wellbeing swept every income band; yet single moms, parents with less schooling, and those relying on public insurance logged markedly poorer scores than their married, college-educated peers.
Dads Took a Hit, Too—Yet Stayed Ahead on Every Metric
Men raising children also reported shrinking “excellent” ratings, yet in 2023 they were still four percentage points less likely than mothers to fall into the “fair/poor” mental health tier.
Federal Attention Mounting
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy underscored the crisis last year. In his advisory Parents Under Pressure, he argued that “the well-being of parents is the well-being of society itself,” citing gun violence, inflation, and the loneliness epidemic as intertwined threats to families.
Theories Behind the Free-Fall
- Tightened access to mental-health professionals.
- Post-pandemic isolation.
- Explosive rise in substance-use disorders.
- Everyday stressors: racism, climate anxiety, and relentless financial strain.
What’s Next?
Investigators warn that flagging maternal health may be society’s canary in the coal mine. They call for deeper dives into which policies—paid leave, subsidized therapy, safer neighborhoods—can turn the trend around, before the next generation pays an even steeper price.
