Study: Blogging Helps New Mothers Cope with Stress
A new study has found that new mothers who either read or write blogs report feeling less lonely, isolated, and stressed than mothers who don’t. The study, performed by researchers at Penn State University and Brigham Young University, found that the emotional support mothers get from blogging benefits them in many areas of life.
“It looks like blogging might be helping these women as they transition into motherhood because they may begin to feel more connected to their extended family and friends, which leads them to feel more supported,” said Brandon T. McDaniel, graduate student in human development and family studies at Penn State in a statement “That potentially is going to spill out into other aspects of their well being, including their marital relationship with their partner, the ways that they’re feeling about their parenting stress, and eventually into their levels of depression.”
Social networking, including Facebook, did not appear to have the same benefits as blogging, the study found. And blogging, though, helpful, was not an antidote to the stress of new motherhood.
“We’re not saying that those who end up feeling more supported all of a sudden no longer have stresses, they’re still going to have those stressful moments you have as a parent,” said McDaniel. “But because they’re feeling more supported, their thoughts and their feelings about that stress might change, and they begin to feel less stressed about those things.”
Image: Woman at a computer, via Shutterstock.
Categories: New Research, Trends | Tags: blogging, blogs, new moms, postpartum depression
by ene adasen
On June 21, 2012 at 8:51 am
Actually am a new mom myself and been experiencing baby blues myself.i run two blogs so the moment i channeled my creativity into writing new posts and getting feedback, i felt better. It doesn’t help completely but it sure relieves baby blues
by Favorite links from around the web | Bunny and Dolly
On June 22, 2012 at 12:02 pm
[...] This is why I blog about being a new mom [...]