Loneliness affects new mothers at alarming rates, with studies indicating between 28-90% of new mothers experience it. Half of all depressed new mothers believe isolation is the main cause, and around 38% of mothers spend more than eight hours alone each day.

This isolation is historically unprecedented. For millennia, women and children were part of 'actively busy social clusters' with communal work and shared caregiving. Today's mothers face barriers to social connection including shame about perceived inadequacy, fear of judgment, and culturally enforced silence about the challenges of motherhood.

The health implications are severe: loneliness is as damaging as smoking up to fifteen cigarettes daily and significantly increases risk for mental illness. Immigrant, younger, and lower-income mothers face even greater isolation risks.

Section: 3, Chapter: 7

Author: Lucy Jones

The book cites epidemiological research showing that the health impact of feeling isolated and disconnected is worse than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness increases the risk of premature death as much as obesity and alcoholism. It is also linked to heart disease, stroke, dementia, and weakened immunity.

Section: 1, Chapter: 1

Author: Kate Murphy