Women’s Health Suffers When They Lack Time for Self-Care

Many mothers struggle to balance the competing demands of caring for their own health and keeping up with household responsibilities. Time spent caring for partners, children or both reduces women’s ability to focus on their health. More and more mothers are starting to view their own health as vital — not just for themselves but for their family’s well-being. However, mothers living with both children and a partner report having the least time for self-care, the time and activities focused on their own health and wellness.

PYMNTS Intelligence’s 2024 Women’s Wellness Index explores the factors negatively impacting women’s health. The Index presents a comprehensive view of health outcomes by analyzing respondents’ reports of overall health, healthcare access, personal health spending and time dedicated to self-care. It also considers the resources needed to support women’s well-being.

The Time Mothers Spend on Personal Health versus Household Care

On average, mothers in nuclear families spend nearly eight hours less per month on their health and wellness than women living alone. While single women spend 58 hours per month on their health, mothers in nuclear families spend roughly 51. This imbalance illustrates the extent to which women with both children and a partner prioritize household well-being over their self-care.

Single mothers spend 53 hours per month on their own health, the same amount as women living with extended family or roommates. Single mothers also spend roughly 51 hours per month on household care, slightly more than women cohabitating with a partner but childless.

Women in cohabiting relationships without children spend less time on personal wellness than single mothers, averaging 52 hours per month. They also dedicate nearly as much time to household care as women with children, averaging 50 hours. This indicates that the addition of a partner increases a woman’s household responsibilities.

While circumstances vary, women with both partners and children spend more time on household care than on their own wellness, relative to women without children who live independently.

Time Constraints and Health Outcomes for Mothers

Women who struggle to spend time on their own wellness have health index scores 5.1% lower than the average woman. This connection between time spent on personal health and wellness outcomes highlights the challenges mothers face in balancing caregiving and household duties. Women who can easily find time for health and wellness have much better outcomes. They score 10% higher on the health index than the average woman. This contrast emphasizes how free time and access to resources for self-care can significantly improve well-being.

Mothers’ lack of time for self-care appears to impact their health. Mothers in nuclear families score 10% lower on health measures than the average U.S. woman. Single mothers score 15% lower than the average woman. Managing family responsibilities and caring for others’ health leaves mothers little time for personal wellness.

These findings illustrate the strong link between available time and health outcomes. Mothers score lower due to time constraints from caregiving. Addressing these barriers could help improve mothers’ health and wellness.

The Impact of Household Responsibilities on Women’s Health

Women who struggle to find time for self-care — the time and activities necessary to maintain their own health and wellness — report facing significantly higher barriers related to household chores, caretaking and managing other household members’ health than those who say finding time for self-care is easy.

Among women who struggle to prioritize self-care, 36% cite household chores as a significant barrier. In comparison, just 9.2% of women who easily make time for health report chores as a issue. Similarly, 27% of women who lack time for self-care say caretaking is a hurdle, nearly five times the share of those who have time for health. Moreover, 23% of those with time constraints identify managing other household members’ health as a barrier. Just 6.9% of women with ample time for self-care report this issue.

These findings emphasize the heavy toll that household responsibilities take on women’s ability to prioritize health. Women who can dedicate time to their own wellness face far fewer obstacles, particularly when managing household duties. By contrast, those burdened with household chores and caretaking responsibilities are more likely to struggle with their health. This situation highlights the need for a more equitable distribution of household labor to improve women’s overall well-being.

Conclusion

Women who live with others, particularly in nuclear families, often spend much of their time caring for household members. This caregiving reduces the time available for their own health and wellness. This helps explain why mothers in nuclear families score lower on health measures than women who live alone.

A more equitable division of household labor would likely improve mothers’ health outcomes. Sharing caregiving and household duties would allow women to dedicate more time to their own well-being. In this way, gender equity in the home is crucial for enhancing the wellness of mothers.

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Methodology

“The 2024 Women’s Wellness Index: Motherhood, Self-Care and Health Priorities Across Households,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, is based on a survey of 10,045 U.S. consumers conducted from Nov. 10, 2023, to Dec. 6, 2023. The survey explored how women’s finances, time and social context impact their overall health and well-being. Our sample was census-balanced across a number of key demographic variables: The average respondent was 48 years old, 51% identified as women, 33% had college degrees and 38% reported incomes of $100,000 or more per year.