The Importance of Self-Care in Mothers: A Flurry of Controversy – Lillea Hartwell, ND

The Importance of Self-Care in Mothers: A Flurry of Controversy 

Lillea Hartwell, ND

A deep dive into the importance of self-care for mothers and its long-term effects on both mental health and child development.

This article explores the impact of self-care on mothers, examining how neglecting self-care can affect children and lead to generational psychological issues while diving into the nature vs. nurture debate.

Disclaimer: Caregivers in a household may not be mothers, and families may not be heterosexual, but the studies referenced in this article for the NDNR edition of women’s health were focused primarily on mothers with a focus on the role of the primary caregiver to their children in a heterosexual couple.

Introduction: The Nature vs. Nurture Debate and Its Impact on Mothers

The nature vs. nurture debate has clashed since the beginning of psychology and even before that. Philosophers interested in explaining the source of our personality narrowed it down to environmental and genetic factors, which have influenced many theories ever since. Plato believed both had authority, while Aristotle thought that the senses were responsible for all mannerisms and characteristics acquired by an individual. During the 1600s, the idea came into question again, as did Locke’s blank slate theory and Descartes’ claims of genetic inheritance uniqueness. Though an earlier analysis persuaded Charles Darwin’s theory into creation, it took him some time to finalize and publish what scientists now recognize as ‘natural selection.’ Darwin observed that through evolution, animals with specific adaptations have a better chance of surviving and passing down the traits that helped specifically to an environment. No matter the conclusion, new questions always arise, plaguing psychologists in a flurry of controversy.1

The Role of Self-Care in Maternal Mental Health

We are a product of nature and nurture in that our genes give us biological potential, and our environment determines how we express it. There are many examples throughout our lives of how certain traits can be expressed. For instance, humans are “hard-wired” for language; our environment determines how well we master it. It also comes out in humor; some jokes and comments cause a riot of laughter but a mixed response for others. Growing up in a high-crime environment may increase the likelihood of quick development of the brain’s aggression center. In some cases, criminal behavior may result from a childhood background. Most inmates had unstable childhoods between the ages of zero and six years old. Something to keep in mind is that genes never directly control behavior. None of us are born killers or saints, sociopaths or “bible-thumpers.” Every human being inherits certain behavioral tendencies that helped our ancestors survive and thrive, but what triggers these tendencies and how often they are expressed varies across cultures and individuals.2 

Psychological Conditions and the Impact of Mother’s Self-Care on Children

However, the developments in the first six years of our life cycle all resemble one another. We are born and survive, and then we use our instincts to thrive, reproduce, and eventually watch our children undergo those curious developments. It’s no secret that specific years during childhood are notorious for growing in certain respects. Take the Terrible Twos, for example. The teething and disregard for others typical of two-year-olds is well-known and established. 

Parents have noticed these patterns that babies build on blueprints. Like a house with a map, the body’s genes are genetic blueprints for human development. Babies come ready to seek food, protection, and care. They can establish relationships with people, especially females. They can distinguish tastes and anticipate things related to food. They grow physically according to genetic encoding. Thus, emotional and physical development are inseparable. Children need emotional security to grow physically; one source of that security is a healthy attachment to their parents.3

The nature vs. nurture debate is an essential issue for psychology because it could help determine solutions to current conditions without cures. A prime example of this is in the race for a cure for schizophrenia. Schizophrenics may have overactive neurotransmitters, especially dopamine, that chemically excites their symptoms. Glutamate, another neurotransmitter, may affect schizophrenia’s development also. Fluid-filled brains, cerebral tissue shrinkage, and frontal lobe malfunctions all greatly affect schizophrenia. A prenatal viral infection during the first half of the pregnancy triples the child’s risk of contracting schizophrenia. Abnormal activity in the thalamus and amygdala may also be contributing factors.4

Although prenatal viral infections may play a role in the development of schizophrenia, it is not the sole factor. Genes may also play a substantial role in the onset of the disease. Adopted children have a higher risk if a biological parent is diagnosed. One study found that the older the biological father is at conception, the greater the risk because there have been more opportunities for the DNA in his sperm to mutate. Across the world, some 1 in 10 fraternal twins develop schizophrenia while 5 in 10 identical twins do.5 

So, we might ask, that’s all interesting, but why is it so important for the mother to take care of herself? Researchers have determined a few psychological factors that may be early warning signs of schizophrenia in children. One factor is a mother whose schizophrenia was severe and long-lasting. Contrastingly, separation from parents could be an example of preemptive signs. Birth complications involving oxygen deprivation and low birth rate play a substantial role. Behaviors contrary to others, like poor peer relations, playing alone, emotional unpredictability, disruptive or withdrawn behavior accompanied by short attention span, and poor muscle coordination, contribute significantly.6 “[S]ubstance use may indicate an important aspect of a mother’s mental health, which is associated with being present and engaged in her parenting behaviors”.7 Some research proposed in this same study has even suggested that if the parent has a history of depressive symptoms, so will their child, influenced mainly by their caregiving behaviors.8 Another study found “there was a strong correlation between the mental status of housewives and both their codependency levels and their self-perceptions. It has been determined that increased levels of codependency and negative self-perception of housewives increase the psychological symptoms experienced”9 in primary caregivers—in this study, stay-at-home mothers. 

The Need for Personalized Self-Care Plans

Research was conducted to evaluate the reasons why this varies. Another study analyzing the role of the pandemic on primary caregivers mentioned similar findings to the study above: “[i]n fact, housewives are burdened with so many responsibilities that they hardly get any time to look after themselves or pay attention to their mental wellness even in normal conditions.”10 This same study investigated why that might be, citing these as some of their reasons: “irregular sleep patterns, lack of mental health assessment/self-judgment methods, irregular emotional episodes/fluctuations due to abundance of household chores and lack of time for self-enhancement.”11 These studies are a small snippet of many that suggest self-care would improve the mother’s ability to care for her children and may help to reduce passing down intergenerational trauma and/or epigenetic changes. In my clinical experience, self-care looks different to each individual. I have also found that co-creating self-care plans with the individual is imperative. I can suggest what I feel is the most appropriate regimen. Still, if it’s not doable for my patient, their demanding schedule already claims most of their time, requires too many steps or purchases of additional items, etc., can all get in the way of best-laid treatment plans. These studies’ findings suggest that mothers’ self-care should be focused on stress management, sleep hygiene, mental health support, and hormonal support. Still, it will ultimately look very different to each person.

Conclusion: A Flurry of Controversy and Its Implications for Mothers and Children

The nature vs. nurture controversy will likely plague us until the end of time. There will continue to be multiple contributions to the psychological conditions of the day. Those will teeter between genetic and environmental despite tests trying to isolate individual disorders to one more than the other. In this way, psychologists can further draw conclusions that benefit society, likely in paradigm shifts that have been going on since Plato in Ancient Greece. From nativism to behaviorism to cognitive psychology, different ideologies have been dictated as mainstream to the psychological and other medical communities. Yet, they continue to shift the ideals of intellectuals and society alike. This flurry of nature vs. nurture controversy is pivotal and essential; it shapes the cures we find for ever-present disorders within our inner circles. What’s certain now is that the mother not prioritizing self-care impacts her children. This impact is possibly harmful, and if she is not taking care of herself, both nature and nurture could influence the psychological well-being of a child, her child’s children, and on as the generational cycle goes.

References

1. Myers, David G. Psychology. 8th ed. New York City: Worth Publishers, 2007. Print. Chapter 1.  
2. Myers, David G. Psychology. 8th ed. New York City: Worth Publishers, 2007. Print. Chapter 16.  
3. Wu Q, Slesnick N. Substance Abusing Mothers with a History of Childhood Abuse and Their Children’s Depressive Symptoms: The Efficacy of Family Therapy. J Marital Fam Ther. 2020;46(1):81-94. doi:10.1111/jmft.12364
4. Kaplan, V. Mental Health States of Housewives: an Evaluation in Terms of Self-perception and Codependency. Int J Ment Health Addiction 21, 666–683 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00910-1
5. Firoz Wagla Wala, S. (2021). The Psychological Aspects of Home-Makers and Women during Pandemic. IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.97687