And Postpartum, 2022 - Lurie Children's
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FAMILY & CHILD HEALTH INNOVATIONS PROGRAM
2022 MOTHER’S DAY REPORT May 6, 2022
Contact: FCHIP@Luriechildrens.org ⚫ Website: luriechildrens.org/FCHIP ⚫ Twitter: @LurieFCHIP ⚫ Instagram: @luriefchip
In this report, FCHIP presents up-to-date
Mothering in a Post-COVID world: information about maternal health in the
continued pandemic, including mental
Fertility, Pregnancy, health and vaccine safety during pregnancy,
and describes a number of innovative
and Postpartum, 2022 programs available for new mothers.
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
Our central tenet is “Children Thrive when Families Thrive.” Established in 2020,
FCHIP is housed at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, in the
Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute and the Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith
Child Health Outcomes, Research and Evaluation Center.
Suggested Citation: Sarah Genelly, Zecilly Guzman, Clarissa Simon, and Craig Garfield.
2022. Mothering in a Post-COVID World: Fertility, Pregnancy, and Postpartum. Family
and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) Report .
FCHIP is directed by founder Craig F. Garfield, MD, MAPP.
Mothers and Babies
can reduce postpartum depression, such as hospital-
based and in-person breastfeeding support programing,
The Mothers and Babies (MB) program is
may have led to lower rates of breastfeeding. Given the
a component of home visiting that
association between breastfeeding and postpartum
provides mental health resources for
depression, these lower breastfeeding rates may
pregnant individuals, new parents, and
contribute to increases in postpartum depression.
providers. The goal of this program is to
help manage stress and prevent
MATERNAL HEALTH AND MORTALITY postpartum depression. MB provides a
toolkit of coping skills to help manage
mood and stress while parenting a baby.
As U.S. life expectancy dropped due to COVID,
MB focuses on three specific areas:
maternal mortality increased from 20.1 deaths per
encouraging more engagement in
100,000 births in 2019 to 23.8 in 2020. Rates were
pleasant activities, promoting healthier
especially high for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic
ways of thinking, and improving social
women. COVID risks are also high for women giving birth.
support. To learn more about home
Women with COVID have higher rates of mortality and
visiting visit ConnecTeen.
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.
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.
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PARENTING IN THE CONTINUED PANDEMIC
Mother’s Monday
As the COVID-induced isolation of pandemic
The 3rd Annual Mother’s Monday,
restrictions ease, social support and typical healthcare
founded in 2020 by Gayatri Agnew, is
services during pregnancy and postpartum are
celebrated each Monday following
expected. For children, vaccination remains safe, with
Mother’s Day. The day is meant to allow
cases of complications following COVID-19 vaccination,
mothers to celebrate working
including multisystem inflammatory syndrome, being
motherhood and to ask how to best
very rare. Death from COVID-19 has resulted in 5.2
balance motherhood and work. This year,
million children losing parents, with three times as
they are hosting a Mother’s Monday
many children worldwide (and almost two and a half in
Celebration webinar to discuss how to
the United States) losing a father compared to loss of a
make helpful change for the betterment
mother.
of women in the workforce.
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.
“We are challenging stereotypes,
sparking conversations, shifting
workplace culture, and creating a
better world for caregivers in the
workforce.” Gayatri Agnew
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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.
Parents in College
Fathers Mothers
697,276
Married
1,033,203
439,569
Single
1,662,878
1,136,845
Total
2,696,081
Adapted from Institute for Women’s Policy Research
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