Women's Journal — Health, Beauty, Fitness & Lifestyle
Women’s Career Advancement Faces Caregiving Barriers
Women’s career advancement remains closely connected to the demands of family caregiving, with new research documenting differences in how mothers and fathers experience work and parenting. More than half of full-time working mothers surveyed said parenthood made it harder to advance at work, compared with 38% of working fathers. Key Takeaways 52% of full-time working mothers said parenthood made career advancement harder, compared with 38% of working fathers Women living in households with children under six spent an average of 2.8 hours daily on primary childcare in 2025, compared with 1.7 hours for men Women accounted for 61% of American family caregivers in 2025 67% of working mothers said they could not give their all at home, while 56% reported the same difficulty at work Family caregiving can affect women’s working hours, earnings, financial well-being and opportunities for professional advancement Pew Research Shows Career Advancement Challenges for Working Mothers An analysis from the Pew Research Center found that 52% of full-time working mothers said being a parent made it somewhat or a lot harder to advance at work. Among full-time working fathers, 38% reported the same experience. The analysis draws on surveys of U.S. adults and working parents, alongside employment
Postpartum Depression Linked to Higher Infant Mortality Risk
Researchers from Rutgers University, Princeton University and the University of California, San Francisco found an association between maternal depressive symptoms identified immediately after childbirth and infant mortality in a study of 414,890 New Jersey births. Published September 2 in JAMA Network Open, the research examined deaths during the first 364 days after birth. Key Takeaways A study published in JAMA Network Open found that maternal depressive symptoms identified immediately after childbirth were associated with a higher risk of infant mortality. Researchers analyzed 414,890 singleton births in New Jersey from 2016 through 2020. Mothers with an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score of 10 or higher were classified as having documented depressive symptoms. Infant mortality was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 births among infants whose mothers had depressive symptoms, compared with 2.0 per 1,000 among those without documented symptoms. The observational study found an association but did not prove that postpartum depression causes infant death. JAMA Study Examines Postpartum Depression and Infant Mortality The population-based retrospective cohort study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms identified during the immediate postpartum period were associated with the risk of infant death. Researchers used New Jersey birth records from 2016 through 2020 and linked them with death records
See if you qualify at fundivi before
you have to turn down the next client.
NEWS
FITNESS
LIFESTYLE
New Child Care Report Reveals the Hidden Cost for Working Moms
A Louisiana report released in October 2026 documents how child care costs and limited availability affect parents’ jobs, with female respondents reporting especially pronounced shifts from full-time to part-time work. The findings explain the financial pressures, scheduling problems, and limited assistance facing families with young children, alongside national data on care prices. Key Takeaways The October 13 report surveyed 500 Louisiana adults caring for children younger than five. Among female respondents answering employment questions, 24.1% reported moving from full-time to part-time work because of child care problems. Infant care averaged approximately $12,042 annually in the report’s inflation-adjusted Louisiana pricing estimate. Nearly 70% of survey respondents reported some difficulty finding affordable child care. A new study from the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children found that child care difficulties coincided with reduced work schedules and job departures among parents of young children. In responses broken down by gender, 24.1% of women said child care problems had led them to move from full-time to part-time employment, compared with 5.9% of men. The institute released The Missing Piece on October 13. Louisiana State University researchers surveyed 500 adults caring for children four and younger from April 13 to April 21. Employment figures reflect 411
BEAUTY
OPINION
