Mothers across income levels and ideological lines report the same pressures: financial strain, gaps in care, and deep distrust of AI companies, according to Wave 1 of the National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers, released today by Count on Mothers, an independent, nonpartisan research and insights firm.
LOS ANGELES, July 15, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mothers across income levels and ideological lines report the same pressures: financial strain, gaps in care, and deep distrust of AI companies, according to Wave 1 of the National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers, released today by Count on Mothers, an independent, nonpartisan research and insights firm.
The Benchmark is a recurring, nationally representative measure of the conditions shaping American families, built to highlight what mothers see first. It tracks five measures: the strain mothers are under and the resources they have to manage it; the financial pressure on families; whether mothers trust institutions to act in families' interests; the conditions children face in their neighborhoods and online; and whether children can get the support they need. The five measures surfaced over more than three years of surveying mothers across the U.S.
The Benchmark is led by a PhD and MPH research team and supported by a Methodology Advisory Board of academic researchers at University College London. Wave 1 was fielded May 2026 among 2,818 mothers of at least one child under 21 living in the household, weighted to U.S. population targets for region, race and ethnicity, education, household income and mothers' age.
Six key findings from Wave 1:
- Nearly a third (32%) of mothers went without their own medical or mental health care in the past year because of cost, putting their child's care first. This is the first nationally representative comparison of a mother's deferred care against her child's.
- 41% of mothers whose youngest child is 13 to 15 say a single surprise $500 expense would push the family into debt. Families are most exposed in the early-teen years, not the baby years.
- Nearly 4 in 10 mothers say their child needed mental, emotional or behavioral support in the past year and about half of those mothers reported difficulty getting it (47%).
- 65% of mothers have little or no trust in AI companies to act in children's interests. This distrust ranks lowest of the 11 institutions tested, below social media and the federal government.
- Among mothers whose children use AI for more than entertainment, 62% agree it makes it harder for their child to learn to solve problems and think independently.
- About a third of mothers (32%) say their child has been marketed a product that is illegal to sell to a minor, such as vapes, gambling, alcohol, cannabis, or pornography.
"Most research looks at one part of family life at a time, the budget, school, or screen time. The Benchmark measures them together, the way families experience them, and because the same questions repeat every wave, each number becomes a trend to watch," said Melissa Lawrence, MPH, MS, Director of Data Science at Count on Mothers.
"What stands out in Wave 1 is how consistent these pressures are. Mothers report the same strains regardless of their income, and across the political spectrum," said Jennifer Bransford, Founder and CEO of Count on Mothers. "Our role is to measure these conditions carefully and put them in front of the people making decisions for families, so they start from what families are actually experiencing."
Inseparable, a founding member of the Benchmark, is a national mental health advocacy non-profit that works at both the state and federal levels to pass policies aimed at fundamentally improving mental healthcare in the U.S. "Raising children is increasingly complex as parents navigate rising youth mental health concerns, the impact of AI and social media, and unaffordable healthcare. These findings show that mothers are bearing an extraordinary burden with insufficient support," said Caitlin Hochul, Senior Vice President of Policymaker Relations at Inseparable. "Many families are forced to make sacrifices, with mothers forgoing their own mental and physical care so their children can receive support, only to encounter obstacles to securing that care. These insights should serve as an urgent wake-up call for policymakers and other decisionmakers."
Results from Wave 1 of the National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers are available at https://www.countonmothers.org/benchmark.
Mothers can join the Count on Mothers' community at https://www.countonmothers.org/mothers.
Organizations interested in becoming founding members or accessing the data for their work can request a conversation at https://www.countonmothers.org/partners.
About Count on Mothers
Count on Mothers (CoM) is dedicated to systematically measuring the lived experiences, conditions, and priorities of U.S. mothers across regions. We conduct recurring, nationally representative surveys and qualitative research designed to generate durable national indicators — translating everyday realities into structured insight for leaders shaping family policy, services, and systems. Our findings have been entered into the official Congressional Record on childcare, paid leave, and technology policy. Our work is grounded in methodological rigor and public transparency, ensuring that mothers' perspectives are reflected accurately, responsibly, and at scale.
Media Contact
Jessica Efstathiou, Count on Mothers, 1 8474366576, [email protected], https://www.countonmothers.org/
SOURCE Count on Mothers
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