"They are trying to do the right thing, but they are not getting the support they need in terms of time to recover and the financial support they need to be at home with their babies," Sakala added.
Just 40 percent of working mothers said they received paid maternity leave benefits. Among those receiving paid maternity leave, 50 percent said they received 100 percent of their pay. Among full-time workers, 23 percent got at least six weeks of full pay, and 38 percent received six weeks at half pay.
More than one-third of the working women were back on the job six weeks after giving birth, and 84 percent were back working after 12 weeks of maternity leave.
Almost half of the women -- 48 percent -- said they hadn't remained at home as long as they wished. The main reason they went back to work was that they couldn't afford more time off, the report found.
Most of the working women said the ideal amount of time off would be seven months. Only 1 percent of the women had fully paid leave for four months or more.
Once the women returned to work, many challenges still remained. Seventy-nine percent described being away from their baby as a challenge. Problems making child-care arrangements affected 50 percent of the new mothers; breast-feeding issues affected 37 percent; 36 percent struggled with issues of support from their partner or spouse; and 29 percent said they experienced lack of support in the workplace.
"There is a major awareness challenge. We aren't really aware of the situation that mothers are in," Sakala said. "We need to extend the supports we have offered to mothers. We need to build awareness among women that they are not alone. These are common issues, issues for which they can get help. They are entitled to help."
Dr. Ruta Nonacs is a staff psychiatrist with Massachusetts General Hospital's Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Clinical Research Program. She thinks the new survey is another piece of evidence that more attention needs to be paid to help new mothers.
