Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issues parental mental health, well-being advisory

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Wednesday issued a Surgeon General's Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents. He called for policy changes to support parents.

"As a father of two young children, I know the joys of parenting-but I also know the stress, loneliness, & uncertainty of parenting in a rapidly changing world," Murthy wrote on X.

In a New York Times opinion essay, Murthy shared his experience of dealing with his then 1-year-old daughter's surgery for a deep thigh infection. He wrote that while parenting joys are abundant, it was also " more stressful than any job I've had."

Data included in Murthy's advisory showed "41% of parents say that most days they are so stressed they cannot function and 48% say that most days their stress is completely overwhelming compared to other adults (20% and 26%, respectively)."

He said parents need tangible support to help with the stress.

"The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society, " Murthy wrote, in the advisory .

"Additionally, we know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children. The stresses parents and caregivers have today are being passed to children in direct and indirect ways, impacting families and communities across America."

He said raising children is sacred work and added, "I am hopeful this Surgeon General's Advisory will help catalyze and support the changes we need to ensure all parents and caregivers can thrive."

The advisory is a public statement calling attention to the importance of parental stress, mental health and well-being, stressors unique to parenting and the direct relationship between parental mental health and child outcomes, according to the Surgeon General.

The advisory said over the past decade U.S. parents have been consistently more likely to report high stress compared to adults who aren't parents.

In 2023, 33% of parents reported high stress in the past month while just 20% of other adults reported feeling highly stressed.

"Something has to change," Murthy wrote in the advisory.

"Supporting parents and caregivers will require a series of thoughtful policy changes and expanded community programs that will help ensure parents and caregivers can get time off to be with a sick child, secure affordable child care, access reliable mental health care, and benefit from places and initiatives that support social connection and community."

He said on top of the traditional parental challenges new modern stressors include "the complexity of managing social media, parents' concerns about the youth mental health crisis, and an epidemic of loneliness that disproportionately affects young people and parents, just to name a few."