New Infographic - Young Parents, COVID-19 and Mental Health Challenges

Transforming Health Care
Through Evidence and
Collaboration

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​NEW DATA INSIGHTS 

The Mental Health of Young Parents During COVID-19 and Beyond

​The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health and well-being of parents and families across the United States. While we don’t yet know the pandemic’s differential effect on teen and young parents, research highlights the additional challenges and burdens facing young parents and young adults more broadly, before and during the pandemic.

Prior to COVID-19, researchers found that mental health challenges are 4 times higher among young mothers compared to their peers and mothers over the age of 21. The pandemic has brought a new set of challenges for parents, who are reporting increased levels of stress as they navigate juggling work, childcare and schooling demands. We also know that pandemic-related job losses have hit young women particularly hard, with unemployment further increasing for young Black and Latina women.
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This infographic reviews what we know about the burdens facing young parents and produces solutions that can support them during the pandemic and beyond.
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See the Data Insights

​Resources to support young parents and mental health:

• 2020 Mom - educational material on maternal mental health, trainings and tools for providers and communities, and policy recommendations
• Yale School of Medicine’s MOMS Partnership - a program model and package of principles and approaches that can significantly reduce depressive symptoms among under-resourced, over- burdened pregnant women and moms and increase the social and economic mobility of their families
• Parents.com - 7 Online Support Groups for Parents During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Zero to Three - resources to support young children at home during the COVID-19 outbreak
• The American Public Human Services Association identifies challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses to young parents and ways to help young families now.
• The Urban Institute highlights young parents’ child care needs and state and local efforts to support young parents during the COVID-19 Crisis

This tipsheet provides suggestions for ways young parents can reduce stress during this challenging time.

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Additional NIHCM Resources

View NIHCM’s recent webinar on early childhood development and the impact of COVID-19 on children and families.

View NIHCM’s infographic series on adverse childhood experiences, the challenges facing children and families during the pandemic and actionable guidance to nurture resilience and support caregivers and parents.

View NIHCM’s recent infographic on the impact of the pandemic on workplace mental health and strategies for employees and employers to improve mental health and well-being.