New From CCF! Recovery From Maternal Depression Varies Around the World

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Salt Lake City, UT – December 11, 2025

A briefing paper released today from the Council on Contemporary Families, "More Than Postpartum: Tracking Differences in the Arc of Maternal Depression Across Liberal Welfare Regimes", summarizes new research on the roles of national policy and personal resources as they impact recovery from depressive symptoms for women during their child's early years. 

In an article published online in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, authors Shannon Cavanagh (University of Texas at Austin) and Asya Saydam (University of Texas at Austin) utilize data from three nationally representative birth cohort studies conducted in the US, the UK, and Australia--countries with low fertility rates and similar political and economic histories, but differences in family policies. These studies began in the early 2000s and followed mothers and their children from infancy through early childhood. Changes in maternal reports of depressive symptoms were tracked over time and examined in relation to mothers’ personal resources, such as education and union status, and to each country’s specific social policies.

Cavanagh and Saydam found that, while depressive symptoms are reported by women across the globe in their child's first year, maternal depression is not merely static and may persist beyond infancy. For example, mothers in the UK reported higher depressive symptoms than their US and Australian counterparts when their child was nine months old, but experienced the steepest drop in symptoms over time. US mothers, on the other hand, reported lower symptoms but little improvement over time. Australian mothers fell between the two. 

Furthermore, they found that mothers' personal resources matter, especially when interacting with broader structural support systems such as family policies. For instance, married women in the UK experienced steeper declines in depressive symptoms compared to their single counterparts. This pattern was reversed in the US. In Australia, a college education mattered in reducing depressive symptoms over time, but college-educated mothers in the US saw no improvement in their depressive symptoms. 

This research demonstrates that mental health is not invariable and is impacted by more than biological determinants alone. In contexts where structural support is limited, even mothers with abundant personal resources may struggle to reduce depressive symptoms. It is imperative that policymakers understand how stronger family policies can help adequately address maternal mental health, especially as it manifests beyond the postpartum period. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Shannon Cavanagh, Chair and Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin,scavanagh@austin.utexas.edu

Asya Saydam, University of Texas at Austin, asyasaydam@utexas.edu 

 

LINKS:

Brief report: More Than Postpartum: Tracking Differences in the Arc of Maternal Depression Across Liberal Welfare Regimes