Learn why supporting maternal mental health is essential for employees and employers alike. Discover practical strategies to create an inclusive workplace, from offering flexible schedules to providing equitable benefits for mothers and their families.
Even though mothers make up around one-third of working women in the U.S., their mental health at work is largely overlooked.
Despite the profound toll maternal mental health conditions can take on well-being, mothers often go without treatment and are left feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and unable to care for themselves or their families in the way they’d like to.
These personal struggles have broader implications as well. Untreated maternal mental health conditions cost the U.S. economy an estimated $14.2 billion over five years. On a more granular level, that comes out to around $32,000 per mother-infant pair.
These costs are too high to ignore—and HR leaders must carefully consider the needs of mothers in their workforce as an integral component of prioritizing employees’ well-being and reducing associated health care costs.
Doing so starts with analyzing their current maternal mental health strategy.
Read on to discover the growing need for maternal mental health support and how conditions like postpartum depression and anxiety affect employees and the companies they work for.
We'll also explore practical ways employers can support mothers’ mental health and cultivate a truly inclusive and equitable environment.
Maternal mental health conditions are more common than many realize. According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
The perinatal period (from conception to up to two years postpartum) brings physical, emotional, and social changes that can lead to a wide range of mental health experiences, from brief “baby blues” to major depression or even psychosis. Tragically, maternal mental health conditions are responsible for 23% of pregnancy-related deaths, including suicides and overdoses.
Despite these profound implications, 75% of maternal mental health cases go untreated—a gap that underscores the urgent need for employers to take action.
Although any mother can experience a maternal mental health disorder, research sheds light on certain factors that heighten the risk, such as:
The average employee already feels high pressure on the job, with 77% experiencing work stress at least once a month. Add to that the physical, emotional, and social changes that come with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care, and it’s easy to see how mental health can be a top challenge for employees who are mothers.
The stress of the perinatal period can contribute to maternal mental health conditions such as:
One of the more common maternal mental health conditions is postpartum depression, which occurs during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth. An employee dealing with postpartum depression may experience:
Mothers who are finding it hard to take care of themselves due to a mental health condition may also find it challenging to keep up with their physical health. Untreated disorders can also sometimes affect a mother’s ability to care for the newborn’s needs.
While maternal mental health conditions can undoubtedly create short-term symptoms and difficulties, they can also lead to long-term psychological and physical consequences, even affecting children’s development later on in life.
Maternal mental health doesn’t just affect mothers personally but can also create ripple effects that touch the entire family unit.
After all, women across the globe do 2.5x as much unpaid work as men do, both in and outside the home. Moreover, mothers during the pandemic were 3x more likely than fathers to take care of the majority of the housework and caregiving responsibilities.
Employees experiencing a maternal mental health condition may find themselves unable to perform regular household or caregiving tasks. Unmet family needs can, in turn, lead to additional guilt or stress for mothers, exacerbating their current mental health struggles.
The effects of a working mother’s mental health aren’t confined to the home. The strain of dealing with mental health conditions—combined with the challenge of balancing maternal and job roles—can significantly impact an employee’s performance at work.
An employee dealing with a maternal mental health condition is more likely to experience work stress or exhaustion, leading to:
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, untreated maternal mental health disorders cost the U.S. as much as $14.2 billion over a span of five years. Absenteeism and presenteeism are to blame for a significant portion of these costs, with their annual financial toll reaching $888 and $2,871 per person, respectively.
Research also confirms that mental health has a direct, negative impact on voluntary turnover among recent mothers. Almost one-third of caregivers take leave or quit their jobs to accommodate their responsibilities.
In contrast, employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their well-being are more than 50% less likely to seek a new job. Modern Health research also shows that employees who engage with their benefits are 5.5% more likely to stay than those who don’t.
As a result, prioritizing maternal mental health not only gives mothers in the workforce much-needed support but also can help employers achieve greater productivity and reduce costs.
Equitable policies and intentional listening are essential ingredients for adequate maternal mental health care in the workplace. If your organization is committed to creating a culture of mental well-being that’s inclusive for mothers, consider the strategies below.
Many mothers dealing with mental health conditions may also struggle with feelings of loneliness. One way to combat this and cultivate a workplace culture of mental well-being is to foster opportunities for community and normalize discussions about maternal mental health.
Doing so can also help to break down stigmas surrounding the mental, physical, and social struggles many working mothers face. Fostering open discussions can include:
Additionally, consider offering manager training on empathy and recognizing signs of mental health struggles. For up to 70% of people, managers have a more significant impact on mental well-being than therapists or doctors do.
Although 90% of employers now offer mental health benefits, there are still significant disparities in the care specific employee demographics receive.
For instance, although 50% of white Americans with mental health conditions receive care, the same can be said for only 31% of the Black community, 33% of the Latino community, and 25% of Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans.
For mental health benefits to be truly equitable, they shouldn’t vary in quality depending on personal characteristics, such as:
For this reason, employers must ensure that their benefits are inclusive and accessible to all employees, regardless of financial barriers.
Benefits should also offer care that serves the specific needs of a diverse workforce, including perinatal mental health support. Consider choosing a mental health benefits solution that includes therapy, coaching, and self-guided resources that cater to various needs and life stages.
For example, Modern Health offers diverse Pathways for therapy and counseling. Mothers can use our Family Care Pathways to access specialized one-on-one programs designed to help them and their families thrive.
Whenever possible, include dependent care services to support the partners of birthing people. For example, Modern Health extends mental health benefits to dependents, helping partners access the support they need to assist mothers effectively.
Employers should analyze their work schedule policies in addition to providing equitable mental health benefits and cultivating a culture of support. Research reveals that flexible work arrangements consistently increase employee engagement, loyalty, and productivity.
In fact, around half of caregivers have to adjust their work schedules to accommodate their responsibilities. As a result, family-friendly arrangements hold significant sway over new employees’ job choices, with 33% considering a job due to flextime offerings and 26% prioritizing telecommuting options.
Consider readjusting your work schedule policies to include:
Employers offering flexible work arrangements should ensure their mental health benefits offer multi-modal solutions. Modern Health, for instance, provides a wide range of in-person and virtual care, including one-on-one or group sessions with licensed therapists, self-guided exercises, mindfulness practices, digital tools, and more.
Inclusive benefits that support maternal well-being and retain top talent go beyond mental health care and flexible work arrangements—they also consider day-to-day caregiver needs.
As much as 58% of new workforce entrants say childcare benefits significantly influence their job choices. Furthermore, employees with access to family and caregiver planning resources are 36% more likely to remain at their jobs.
Consider offering supportive benefits such as:
Investing in your employees’ maternal mental health frees them to thrive in life and at work—and the advantages extend to employers as well. Comprehensive maternal mental health care carries tangible benefits for organizations in terms of talent retention, productivity, and health care cost savings.
Including maternal mental health in your benefits strategy can foster a healthier, more inclusive workplace and help your organization and employees reach their full potential.
Explore how Modern Health can help you support the well-being of caregivers in your workforce.
Modern Health is the comprehensive mental wellness platform that combines the WHO well-being assessment, self-service wellness kits, an international network of certified coaches, and licensed therapists available in 35 languages all in a single app. Modern Health empowers employers to lead the charge in acknowledging that mental health is just as important as physical health, de-stigmatizing the conversation, and increasing accessibility of mental health services for all.
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