Pulse Check 2026: Mothers on Mental Health, Getting Care, and the Systems Around Their Families

In October 2026, Count on Mothers released Pulse Check 2026, a nationally representative study of U.S. mothers on their families' mental health: what children need, whether families can get help, and how the effort of securing that care affects mothers themselves. The study draws on Wave 1 of the National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers and examines mothers' firsthand experience at home, in schools, across insurance systems, and online. It finds high and widely shared need, access that most often breaks down at cost and insurance, and a close link between how hard it is to get a child's care and how a mother is doing herself.

The need is widespread. Nearly 4 in 10 mothers (39%) say a child needed support for a mental, emotional, or behavioral concern in the past 12 months, and 53% worry about their children's mental health.
Mothers' and children's mental health are closely linked. Half of all mothers (50%) say caring for their own mental health was difficult in the past 30 days. That share rises to 70% among mothers whose child needed support, and to 78% where the support came only after significant barriers.
Getting care is hard for nearly half. Among mothers whose child needed mental, emotional, or behavioral support, nearly half (47%) got it only partially, only after significant barriers, or not at all. Only 53% got it without significant difficulty.
Insurance is a recurring obstacle. Among mothers whose child needed support, 56% ran into at least one insurance problem, most often no in-network provider, a prior-authorization delay, or a limit on covered visits, and 34% ran into two or more.
Cost keeps families from care. 44% of mothers delayed or avoided care because of cost. Among families earning $25,000 to $49,999, only 7% were confident they could cover a surprise $500 medical bill.
Time is the biggest barrier to mothers' own care. Asked the main obstacle to caring for their own mental health, mothers name time first (49%), about three times the share who name cost (16%).
Financial stress is mothers' top concern. Asked in their own words about the biggest concern for their family's wellbeing, 41% named financial stress, more than any other concern.

‍

Source. Count on Mothers, Pulse Check 2026: Mothers on Mental Health, Getting Care, and the Systems Around Their Families, October 2026. Drawn from Wave 1 of the National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers, fielded May 7 to 27, 2026 among 2,818 U.S. mothers, weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks on region, race and ethnicity, education, and mother's age; margin of error ±2.3 points for the full sample. Inseparable commissioned the study and provided subject-matter expertise on the survey instrument, with advance access to findings before publication. Inseparable had no editorial influence. Count on Mothers retained final authority over methodology, data analysis, interpretation, and publication. Research led by Jennifer Brailsford, PhD, Director of Research, and Melissa Lawrence, MPH, MS, Director of Data Science. Full methodology and field dates are available in the report.

Request a Briefing

See the Public Report

Child and Family Mental Health Access and Support

Children’s Well-Being and Safety in Modern Environments

Shared Priorities and Cross-Partisan Alignment Among Mothers

Research Library

From the Heart of American Families: Assessing Mothers' Views on Federal Policy

The Real Cost of Health Insurance: Exploring Critical Challenges for U.S. Families

Insights into American Mothers' Views on Baby Food Product Safety

Mothers' Views on the Safe School Meals Act