We’re Losing Mothers: In Labor Rooms and Living Rooms

A new study reveals maternal mental health has declined sharply since 2016: especially for single moms and low-income families.

A 2025 cross-sectional study published in JAMA and covered by the American Hospital Association confirms what many moms have felt but couldn’t always name: maternal mental health has sharply declined over the past seven years.

Nearly 200,000 mothers. Children from newborn to 17. And what this study confirms is something most moms already know in their bones:

Maternal mental health is collapsing.

And not just postpartum. Not just for new moms. This is long-haul motherhood. This is seven years of slow unraveling. From 2016 to 2023, self-reported mental health in mothers dropped hard, across all demographics. 

And here’s the brutal truth: it’s not just one type of mom. Mental health declined across every subgroup: wealthy, working-class, college-educated, high school grads. But the steepest drop? It was among single mothers, moms with lower education, and those whose children are publicly insured. The ones with the least margin. The least backup. The least room to fall apart.

“I Wasn’t Sad. I Was Just... Gone.”

“Depressed mothers commonly report their illness stems from isolation and lack of support.” — Cochrane Review on Postnatal Depression (source)

This isn’t baby blues or bad days. It’s the compounding weight of motherhood without backup.

It’s about moms trying to hold it together while the world says, “You’re strong. You’ll bounce back.” It’s about 3 a.m. sobbing in the bathroom with no one to call.

Burnout isn’t a phase. It’s become the baseline.

More Than a Screening!

Myri doesn’t wait for the crash. We intervene early.
We offer maternal mental health screenings not once, not just at six weeks, but throughout the full journey. Pregnancy. Postpartum. Early parenting. And beyond.

If a mom has a family history of mental illness or she’s signaling stress, we don’t brush it aside. We flag it. We reach out. We offer actual, usable support, and not a dusty pamphlet.

But clinical screening alone isn’t enough. We knew that from the beginning.

“Mothers Need a Village.

So, We Built One.”

We don’t “just” provide care. We provide community.

And not the curated, shiny kind you scroll past on social media. The kind where moms sit down and say, “I’m exhausted,” and hear someone else say, “Me too.”

Small, peer-led circles. Trained facilitators. Real talk. No judgment. No performance. Just space to be human.

The Data Agrees: Peer Support Saves Lives

“Peer-led emotional support significantly reduces postpartum depression and anxiety.”

— Journal of Affective Disorders (source)

This isn’t fluff. This is evidence-backed maternal care.

When moms feel heard, they heal. When they feel connected, they cope.
That’s why Myri’s peer support model is built into every layer of our platform. Connection is the intervention.

“High-risk moms receiving peer mentorship were half as likely to develop postpartum depression.”

— Journal of Primary Care & Community Health

If You’re a Mom Reading This

You are not weak. You’re not broken. You are doing something superhuman in systems designed to forget you.

And with Myri, you don’t have to do it alone.

We see you. We support you. We’re already here, waiting to meet you where you are.

If You’re a Leader, a Health System, or a Decision Maker

This study is an alarm for all of us, and should be treated like one.

It’s time to fund models that center maternal well-being.
To build policy around lived experience, not outdated metrics.
To recognize maternal mental health as the frontline of public health.

Because moms aren’t okay.
And pretending they are, only delays the fix.

The System Is the Symptom

If the AHA/JAMA study tells us anything, it’s this: maternal mental health isn’t an individual crisis, but a system-level failure.

We need care models that don’t just diagnose distress, but prevent it.
We need funding for platforms like Myri, that meet moms before the breakdown.
We need to treat a mother’s mental health like her vital signs, because it is.