A new European study has found high levels of maternal ill health, alongside persistent work-life balance and career penalties, in the UK and mainland Europe.
How bad is maternal mental health in Europe?
Worldwide about 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who have just given birth develop a mental health issue, in particular depression, according to the World Health Organization. Make Mothers Matter’s study of nearly 10,000 [exact number 9,600] mums in 12 European countries found that more than two-thirds of the mothers who took part in the survey said they felt mentally overloaded, while over the past year, a third reported anxiety, 20% depression and 18% burnout.
A third of mums in Sweden and a quarter of German and British mothers reported depression, while 42% of Spanish respondents said they experienced anxiety in the previous year.
A table showing the percentage of mothers who experienced mental health issues in the past year, sorted by country
“The findings shows that mental health strain is the norm, not the exception, especially for mothers with young children, multiple children, low incomes, or single-parent households. Yet, caregiving during early childhood is one of the most powerful determinants of lifelong health and wellbeing,” says Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, director of health systems at WHO/Europe.
What is the impact of such levels of overload?
“Mothers’ mental health is deteriorating because they face huge challenges, too often without support and crucially: because policies haven’t caught up with reality,” says Ann-Katrin Orr, policy officer at Mental Health Europe. “You can’t pile work pressure, care responsibilities and rigid gender norms and roles on to women while reducing social supports and then be surprised when anxiety and depression rise.”
A 2024 study in Switzerland found a substantial mental health penalty for women after the birth of their first child, with a 50% increase in the use of antidepressants compared to before childbirth and a 75% increase by the child’s sixth birthday, which the authors concluded was a direct consequence of giving birth and the changed life circumstances and time constraints that accompany it, as the penalty is rising over time and is higher for women who are employed.
Career penalties are still too high
Across the 12 countries surveyed, more than one quarter said having a baby had negatively affected their careers, rising to around one-third of mothers in Ireland (36%), the UK (31%) and Germany (31%).
A shocking 6% of respondents said they had been sacked or forced out of their company due to being pregnant or a new mother. While fewer mothers in Ireland (2%), the UK (4%) or Sweden (4%) reported being fired or made to leave, 9% of Portuguese and Czech respondents lost their jobs due to motherhood.
Being a mother also had a detrimental impact on applying for jobs, with 16% saying they felt discriminated against during the recruitment process and 30% saying their opportunities to progress had been restricted. A fifth said they were ruled out of a pay rise and more than a third lost income.
Work pressures and childcare difficulties don’t help
For many respondents, juggling caring as well as work proves too much, with mums having to solely pick up the majority of household tasks. While 74% of Portuguese and 62% of mothers in Sweden went back to work full-time after the birth of their child, only 29% of German mums did, with 42% going part-time and 21% leaving the workforce altogether to stay at home. Mothers in the UK were the most likely to cite the cost of childcare as a reason for changing their working status. While 17% of British mums said the expense of nurseries and childminders caused them to alter their work patterns, this was only a factor for 7% of mothers in EU countries.
A chart showing the proportion of new mothers who left their jobs after giving birth, and how many did so because of the costs of childcare, sorted by country
What would improve mothers’ emotional and psychological wellbeing?
The study found that barely one-third of the women surveyed had a gradual return to work after having their babies and fewer than half had adjusted working hours.
Orr says that has to change. “Flexible working hours, strong parental leave, accessible, community-based mental health services and stigma-free support aren’t ‘extras’, they’re essential to adequately tackle gender inequalities.”
“Mental health support should be an integral, unstigmatised part of antenatal and postnatal care, and supportive, flexible social and employment environments should be the expected norm for all mums,” adds Dr Alain Gregoire, the honorary president of the Maternal Mental Alliance UK. “This requires action without delay across government and society.”
That means expanding mental health services and improving workplace support to ensure that caregivers are not left to cope alone, says Dr Azzopardi-Muscat. “Supporting mothers through social connection, flexible work, and accessible mental healthcare is essential not only for parents, but for the healthy development of children and the resilience of society as a whole.”
