{ "title": "Mom Burnout Statistics", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics", "description": "The most-quoted figures on maternal burnout, sorted by what each one actually measures: federal surveillance data, national time use, and the brand surveys everyone cites as fact.", "publisher": "Wildcard Wellness", "publishedAt": "2026-09-10", "updatedAt": "2026-09-10", "nextUpdate": "June 2027 for the time-use figures, and whenever the CDC publishes a newer PRAMS prevalence estimate", "licence": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "note": "Free to reuse with attribution to Meadow and a link to the report." }, "stats": [ { "id": "ppd-prevalence", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#ppd-prevalence", "value": "13.2%", "label": "of new mothers had postpartum depressive symptoms", "claim": "About one in eight American women who had recently given birth (13.2%) reported postpartum depressive symptoms, according to CDC surveillance across 31 sites in 2018.", "method": "CDC Vital Signs analysis of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data. This is the strongest US figure available on maternal mental health because it comes from public-health surveillance rather than an opt-in survey. It still covers only 31 PRAMS sites, not all 50 states, and 2018 is the most recent year published in this Vital Signs series.", "sources": [ "cdc-vitalsigns-2020" ] }, { "id": "ppd-state-spread", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#ppd-state-spread", "value": "2.4×", "label": "the gap in postpartum depression between the best and worst US state", "claim": "Postpartum depressive symptoms ranged from 9.7% of new mothers in Illinois to 23.5% in Mississippi in 2018, a 2.4-fold difference between US states.", "method": "The highest site prevalence divided by the lowest, from the CDC Vital Signs range.", "sources": [ "cdc-vitalsigns-2020" ] }, { "id": "ppd-screening", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#ppd-screening", "value": "87.4%", "label": "of new mothers were asked about depression at a postpartum visit", "claim": "87.4% of American women reported being asked about depression at a postpartum check-up in 2018, and 79.1% at a prenatal visit. Roughly one in eight were never asked after birth.", "method": null, "sources": [ "cdc-vitalsigns-2020" ] }, { "id": "childcare-gap", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#childcare-gap", "value": "1 hr 6 min", "label": "more childcare a day for women in homes with a child under 6", "claim": "In American households with a child under age 6, women spent 2.8 hours a day on primary childcare in 2025 against men’s 1.7, a gap of 1 hour 6 minutes.", "method": "The American Time Use Survey publishes by sex and household composition rather than by parental role, so this compares women and men living in households with young children, not mothers and fathers as such.", "sources": [ "atus-2025-release" ] }, { "id": "childcare-double", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#childcare-double", "value": "2×", "label": "the childcare time of men, for women, across all households", "claim": "Across all American households, women spent exactly twice as long caring for household children as men in 2025: 0.48 hours a day against 0.24.", "method": null, "sources": [ "atus-2025-t1" ] }, { "id": "survey-burnout", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#survey-burnout", "value": "93%", "label": "of surveyed mothers reported burnout", "claim": "93% of the 4,000 mothers surveyed for the 2026 Motherhood Index reported experiencing burnout, and 58% said they felt burned out often or almost always.", "method": "An opt-in survey of mothers in the US and UK run by Peanut, a social app for mothers, with Nuna. It is not a probability sample of mothers, so this is 93% of the mothers who answered, a group already more likely than average to be seeking support. Widely reported as though it were a national prevalence figure; it is not one.", "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] }, { "id": "survey-sleep", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#survey-sleep", "value": "70%", "label": "of surveyed mothers got under five hours’ unbroken sleep", "claim": "70% of mothers surveyed for the 2026 Motherhood Index said they get fewer than five hours of unbroken sleep a night, and 36% fewer than four.", "method": null, "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] }, { "id": "survey-careers", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#survey-careers", "value": "47%", "label": "of surveyed mothers had scaled back, paused or left their careers", "claim": "47% of mothers surveyed for the 2026 Motherhood Index had scaled back, paused or left their careers, and one in five had left work entirely.", "method": null, "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] }, { "id": "survey-unequal", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#survey-unequal", "value": "71%", "label": "of surveyed mothers do more domestic work than their partner", "claim": "71% of surveyed mothers in two-parent households said they take on more childcare and domestic work than their partner, and 42% said significantly more. The 2026 Motherhood Index found that group 33% more likely to report burnout.", "method": null, "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] }, { "id": "survey-access", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#survey-access", "value": "48%", "label": "of surveyed mothers needed health support and could not get it", "claim": "48% of mothers surveyed for the 2026 Motherhood Index said they had needed health support but could not access it.", "method": null, "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] }, { "id": "global-worry", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#global-worry", "value": "42%", "label": "of women worldwide felt worry the previous day, in 2024", "claim": "42% of women worldwide reported experiencing worry the previous day in 2024, 28% reported sadness and 34% reported physical pain for much of the day, according to the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index.", "method": "Conducted by Gallup across 144 countries with more than 145,000 respondents. Measures women generally, not mothers. It is here as context for the national figures above, not as a statistic about mothers.", "sources": [ "hologic-2026" ] }, { "id": "burnout-language", "url": "https://www.growyourmeadow.com/data/mom-burnout-statistics#burnout-language", "value": "+107%", "label": "growth in burnout language in mothers’ posts, year on year", "claim": "Burnout language in mothers’ posts on the Peanut platform rose 107% year on year to March 2026, and nervous-system language rose 625%, across an analysis of more than 500,000 posts.", "method": "Measures how mothers on one platform talk, not how many are burned out. A rise in the language can reflect the vocabulary spreading as easily as the condition spreading.", "sources": [ "motherhood-index-2026" ] } ], "tables": [ { "id": "sources-compared", "title": "The most-quoted maternal burnout figures, and what each one can support", "columns": [ "Figure", "What it actually measures", "Sample", "How reliable it is" ], "rows": [ [ "13.2% with postpartum depressive symptoms", "Self-reported depressive symptoms after a recent live birth, 2018", "CDC PRAMS surveillance, 31 US sites", "Strong. Public-health surveillance, designed to be representative." ], [ "9.7%–23.5% across states", "The same measure, by state", "CDC PRAMS surveillance, 31 US sites", "Strong, but covers 31 sites rather than all 50 states." ], [ "2.8 vs 1.7 hours of childcare", "Minutes per day on primary childcare in households with a child under 6, by sex, 2025", "BLS American Time Use Survey, national random sample", "Strong. Measures behaviour, not opinion. Reports sex, not parental role." ], [ "93% of mothers burned out", "Whether opt-in survey respondents said they had experienced burnout, 2026", "Peanut/Nuna, 4,000+ self-selected mothers, US and UK", "Weak as prevalence. Respondents are app users who chose to answer." ], [ "70% sleeping under five hours", "Self-reported unbroken sleep among the same respondents", "Peanut/Nuna, 4,000+ self-selected mothers", "Weak as prevalence. Useful as a description of that group." ], [ "42% of women felt worry yesterday", "Self-reported emotion the previous day, 2024", "Gallup for Hologic, 145,000+ respondents, 144 countries", "Strong sampling, but measures women generally, not mothers." ] ], "note": "Sorted by how reliable the figure is, not by how often it gets quoted. The two orders are almost reversed.", "sources": [ "cdc-vitalsigns-2020", "atus-2025-release", "motherhood-index-2026", "hologic-2026" ] } ], "sources": [ { "id": "cdc-vitalsigns-2020", "title": "Vital Signs: Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Provider Discussions About Perinatal Depression — United States, 2018", "publisher": "US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MMWR", "url": "https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6919a2.htm", "covers": "2018 PRAMS data, 31 sites", "published": "2020-05-15", "retrieved": "2026-09-10" }, { "id": "atus-2025-release", "title": "American Time Use Survey — 2025 Results (USDL news release)", "publisher": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", "url": "https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.htm", "covers": "2025 annual averages", "published": "2026-06-25", "retrieved": "2026-09-10" }, { "id": "atus-2025-t1", "title": "Table 1. Time spent in primary activities and percent of the civilian population engaging in each activity, averages per day by sex, 2025 annual averages", "publisher": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey", "url": "https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t01.htm", "covers": "2025 annual averages", "published": "2026-06-25", "retrieved": "2026-09-10" }, { "id": "motherhood-index-2026", "title": "The Motherhood Index 2026", "publisher": "Peanut and Nuna", "url": "https://www.peanut-app.io/motherhood-index", "covers": "Opt-in survey of 4,000+ mothers in the US and UK, plus 500,000+ platform posts, December 2024 – March 2026", "published": "2026-06-03", "retrieved": "2026-09-10" }, { "id": "hologic-2026", "title": "Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, Year 5", "publisher": "Hologic, conducted by Gallup", "url": "https://news.gallup.com/poll/702947/global-women-health-shows-signs-progress-gaps-remain.aspx", "covers": "2024 data, 145,000+ respondents across 144 countries", "published": "2026-03-16", "retrieved": "2026-09-10" } ], "methodology": [ "This report aggregates published figures rather than producing new ones, so its job is to keep the sources separate and label what each can support.", "Sources are ranked by design, not by how quotable they are. Public-health surveillance (CDC PRAMS) and national random-sample surveys (BLS American Time Use Survey) are treated as strong evidence about the population. Opt-in surveys, however large, are treated as descriptions of the people who answered them.", "Every figure is transcribed from the primary publication, not from a secondary aggregator. Where the primary source could not be reached and checked, the figure was left out, including several that circulate widely.", "Where a figure is a ratio or a difference, the arithmetic is stated on the stat itself.", "Nothing here is modelled or adjusted. Percentages are reproduced as their publishers reported them." ], "limitations": [ "The 93% burnout figure is not a prevalence estimate. It comes from an opt-in survey run by an app for mothers, so its respondents chose to take part and are not a random sample of mothers. It is a good description of the mothers who answered and a poor description of mothers in general, and the same applies to every other Motherhood Index figure on this page.", "\"Burnout\" has no agreed clinical definition for parents. The ICD-11 entry describes an occupational phenomenon, so a survey asking mothers whether they feel burned out is measuring self-description, not diagnosis.", "The CDC figure is the strongest here and is still limited: 31 PRAMS sites rather than all states, and 2018 is the most recent year published in that Vital Signs series. It measures depressive symptoms after a recent live birth, which is a narrower thing than maternal burnout.", "The American Time Use Survey reports by sex and household composition, not by parental role. \"Women in households with children under 6\" is not identical to \"mothers\", and the survey records men and women only.", "The Hologic index measures women worldwide, not mothers, and not Americans. It is context here, not evidence about mothers.", "Language-growth figures measure how people talk on one platform. More people using a word does not mean more people have the condition, and a 625% rise in \"nervous system\" language is at least partly a wellness trend becoming popular.", "Almost none of these sources measure the same population, the same year or the same concept. They should not be added together, and a percentage from one cannot be compared with a percentage from another." ], "updates": [ { "date": "2026-09-10", "note": "First published, comparing CDC PRAMS (2018), BLS ATUS (2025), the Motherhood Index (2026) and the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index (2024 data)." } ] }