• Mon, Dec 12 2011

Working Mothers Are Generally Healthier Than Stay-At-Home Mommies

mother working childGood news for those working mothers who feel like they don’t get enough sleep, eat handfuls of salty snacks, and never get a moment to relax. You may feel like hell, but according to some new research by the American Psychological Association, you’re actually healthier than your stay-home-mom counterparts. And get this — work is actually keeping you healthier.

After studying 1,364 mothers mothers for well over 10 years, researchers concluded that there were considerable disparities in mental and physical health between employed and non-employed mothers, particularly when it came to depression symptoms. Yet, there was no disparity between those mothers working full-time and part-time.

Health News Digest reports that part-time working mothers feel that they are sufficiently involved with their kids while also keeping other ambitions afloat:

The analysis found that mothers employed part time were just as involved in their child’s school as stay-at-home moms, and more involved than moms who worked full time. In addition, mothers working part time appeared more sensitive with their pre-school children and they provided more learning opportunities for toddlers than stay-at-home moms and moms working full time.

Part-time working mothers may have the best of both worlds but given how much our economy has tanked, it’s questionable whether many families can even afford this set up anymore. Even so, getting outside the home or office — or even home office depending on your own arrangement is crucial to essential health. And juggling briefs while swinging by the grocery store and helping assist in your child’s kindergarten class ensures exactly that.

(photo: Shutterstock)

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  • SJP

    Couple things to consider –

    Working moms may have better access to health insurance than SAHMs. I know in our case, my husband is self employed and if I quit my job, we would have limited options. By working, I provide my family with top notch, affordable health ins. Good health ins usually means people are more apt to get preventive care, see the doctor when they are sick, etc.

    Another point is that it may be easier for a working mom to get to the doctor in the first place. Of course it depends on your job, but in my case, it’s no big deal to pop over to the dentist for my cleanings over my lunch hour… or come in late/leave early for other doctor appointments. I get to go by myself and not drag my kids along or find a sitter, etc. It’s amazingly simple compared to if I was a SAHM.

  • CW

    I didn’t see any indication in the press release that the researchers controlled for maternal educational level and family income. That is a huge design flaw IMHO given that we know better-educated, wealthier individuals tend to be on, average, healthier. We also know that the greater the education she has, the more likely a mom is to be employed at least part-time. So you’ve got a couple major confounding variables that need to be controlled for if the researchers want to have valid results.

  • Beth

    Correlation not causality….

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  • Julie

    As a part-time working mom, I take offense at the statement that with the economy the way it is, it is questionable whether families can afford this set-up. It’s all a choice. We make big sacrifices so that I can be home with our child more than if I worked full-time. And since when is it just working moms “who feel like they don’t get enough sleep, eat handfuls of salty snacks, and never get a moment to relax?”