Stress, fatigue, sedentary lifestyle… The consequences of the covid pandemic on our physical and mental health are serious. But those who would pay the heaviest price would be mothers of children under five. This is the finding of an American study conducted at Louisiana State University and published on April 22, 2021 in the scientific journal Women’s Health.

“domestic chaos”

The researchers, affiliated with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, interviewed 1,721 mothers of children aged three to five in May 2020, across America’s 50 states. They asked them about their stress, physical activity, sleep and “domestic chaos“that reigned in their home, namely disorder, noise or clutter.

Less sleep and exercise

As a result, only half of the mothers in the study received the recommended amount of sleep and physical activity. Worse, twice as many mothers reported having problems sleeping during the epidemic than before it. And the more the mothers were stressed, the less they practiced sport and the less they slept.

The mothers most affected seem to be those who work from home. They have indeed yielded a greater “domestic chaos“because they had to take care of their children while working remotely.

Read also: How the health crisis has exploded the mental burden of women

Degradation of health

For the authors of the study, the health crisis has worsened an already deleterious situation for mothers. “Mothers of young children are already less likely to get the recommended amount of sleep and physical activity than women who do not have children“notes Dr. Chelsea Kracht, co-author of the study, in a press release from the research center.

“These deficiencies can increase the risk of obesity and ill health, and confinement has made matters worse by increasing levels of stress and household chaos“, she continues.

“Need for systemic change”

How to limit these risks? For Dr Amanda Staiano, who also co-authored the study, “there are a number of ways moms can reduce stress, such as taking a break from the news and spending a few minutes relaxing before falling asleep“.

But that’s not enough and “what moms really need is more support“adds the specialist.”They need systemic change “ she sums up.

The results of the study indeed confirm the need to “provide mothers with reliable and affordable childcare options“, adds Amanda Staiano.

Without forgetting of course the fact that fathers or, failing that, other members of the family, assume part of the childcare and household chores.

French women also more impacted

In France also the inequalities between women and men have been accentuated by the pandemic. Thus, a study by the Ipsos institute showed that among teleworkers in the second confinement, women were 1.3 times more likely than men to feel anxious.

And according to the barometer of the French Federation of Physical Education, women practiced 48 minutes less sport per week than men in 2020. This lack of activity had a negative impact on their physical well-being for 62% of them (compared to 55% of men) and on their psychological well-being for 59% of them (against 42% of men).