Maternal mental health encompasses more than postpartum depression, with many women experiencing anxiety, high levels of stress, and other mental health needs at different points during the transition to parenting. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly examining how women feel during and after their pregnancies.
Research also points to correlations between depression, anxiety, and stress among new and expectant parents. For example, up to 75 percent of new mothers with depression also experience anxiety; when mothers experience anxiety, they are more likely to experience rising stress over the prenatal and postpartum periods.*
Home visiting programs have begun integrating strategies in keeping with this shift. Some home visiting models seek to directly address needs or support mothers with a history of trauma or poor mental health. Others are delivered by mental health clinicians equipped to provide individualized assessment and treatment with a focus on parent-child relationships. Home visiting programs have also partnered with mental health providers or offered skills-based psychoeducation and coaching delivered by nonclinical home visiting staff.
This brief builds on our 2018 look at how home visiting can address depression by broadening the scope of mental health to include anxiety and stress. The authors reanalyzed the literature to identify strategies and home visiting models that aim to support the mental health needs of expectant and new mothers. Research is summarized to provide insight into three questions:
- How does maternal mental health affect child development?
- What can home visiting programs do to address maternal mental health?
- What are the implications for research and practice?
Suggested citation: Miles, E., Phillips, E., Doyle, E., Sandstrom. H., & Atukpawu-Tipton, G. (2025). Maternal mental health in home visiting: Addressing depression, anxiety, and stress. National Home Visiting Resource Center Research Snapshot Brief. James Bell Associates and Urban Institute. https://nhvrc.org/brief/maternal-mental-health/
Acknowledgments: Thank you to Joelle Ruben, Allison Meisch, and Jill Filene for their support shaping and refining the brief. Thank you to Erin Ingoldsby for providing expert review.
*See the full brief for citations.