New study shows lack of emotional care during pregnancy

As part of our initiative to study mental health in pregnancy, we listened to over 1,000 pregnant Americans and exposed an urgent need for better emotional care. The Invisible Weight of Pregnancy report was conducted in partnership with Nonfiction Research. You can explore the full report here.

Pregnancy is one of the biggest psychological transformations a person can experience after adolescence. It can open a cocktail of fears, insecurities, and even deep psychological wounds from childhood.

Although these emotional challenges during pregnancy are common, we’ve found that emotional care is not. 

• 57% of Americans admit they felt difficult or dark feelings in their most recent pregnancy
• 82% of pregnant Americans felt unable to discuss their negative feelings with their doctor 
• 69% of Americans self-reported anxiety during pregnancy
• 53% of Americans self-reported depression during pregnancy

The Invisible Weight of Pregnancy emphasized the critical need for improved maternal mental health care. Now that we’ve brought this problem to light, how do we solve it? To start, we’ve devised a blueprint for more emotional care. Check out Mapping a better future for maternal health to learn more. 

Nonfiction Pregnancy Study 2022 n=1,029 respondents