Excess parenting advice on social media, the expectation of being a perfect mother and the balance between family and career are leaving millennial mothers mentally and physically exhausted, specialists say, according to Ajker Patrika.
Laura Gakian, founder of the UK company Mind Mummy Coaching, said motherhood is probably at its hardest for this generation of women. A mother of three, she went through a severe mental health crisis herself after her first child was born and had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
The report cites a 2018 study which found that social expectations of perfect motherhood increase parental burnout. A 2022 study found that comparison on social media and the tendency to carry every responsibility alone increase exhaustion both at work and in parenting.
Specialists say countless tips on children's food, sleep schedules and screen time are confusing mothers, though no two children need the same thing. Ella, a mother in the UK, said her anxiety did not ease even after following social media advice on sleep routines and paying a specialist 300 pounds.
Belinda Batt, a specialist in maternal guilt, said that while information is plentiful, the burden of acting on it falls on mothers alone. Uncertainty over climate change, artificial intelligence and global conflict adds further pressure.
To change things, Gakian calls for flexibility at work, better paternity leave, affordable childcare and attention to mothers' mental health. She advises mothers to step out of the race to be perfect and to value their own needs and abilities, because when a mother is unwell the whole family suffers.
Source: Ajker Patrika
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