New Study Supports Working Moms

For mothers, the decision whether or not to go back to work after the birth of their child is extremely difficult. Many women must work in order to support their families and put food on the table. However, those in a more comfortable financial position are often tormented by the decision of whether to stay at home with their kids full-time or continue to pursue their career goals. Until recently, data suggested that children whose mothers went back to work within the first 12 months of their lives suffered developmental setbacks. Yet, a new study by Columbia professors suggests that children of working mothers are no worse off than those of stay at home moms.

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Wen-Jui Han and Jane Waldfogel observed 1,364 children. Dissatisfied by the lack of nuance in the data of previous studies, the professors sought to look at how other factors may contribute to a child of a working mother’s cognitive development. The results showed that the children of working mothers did at times score lower on cognitive tests than those of stay-at-home moms. However, it also revealed that children of working mothers who significantly increased their family’s income, opted for high quality childcare or responded to their children’s needs scored just as well as their peers.

The study also looked at how race and ethnicity affected outcomes. The data showed that children of black working mothers did not score lower on cognitive tests then children whose mothers elected to stay home. “One hypothesis was that black children are not as affected by mothers going back to work because they are culturally more likely to be taken care of by relatives, while white children are more likely to go into institutional day care or to be cared for by nannies and babysitters who are not related to them.”

Perhaps the most important revelation was that “maternal sensitivity” makes a huge difference in the development of a child. Children of mothers who responded to their needs when they were around scored well on their tests. Brooks-Gunn suggests that maternal sensitivity can offset any negative effects that may be produced by a mother going back to work during her child’s infancy.  For most children, it wasn’t the quantity of time they spent with their mother but the QUALITY of time that impacted their cognitive development and emotional growth.

For more information on this new study, click here.