Blogging de-stresses new mothers New mothers who read and write blogs are likely to be less stressed
out, as they begin to feel more connected to their extended family and
friends, says a new study.
"It looks like blogging might be
helping these women as they transition into motherhood because they may
begin to feel more connected to their extended family and friends, which
leads them to feel more supported," said Brandon T. McDaniel, graduate
student in human development and family studies, Penn State University.
"That
potentially is going to spill out into other aspects of their well
being, including their marital relationship with their partner, the ways
that they're feeling about their parenting stress, and eventually into
their levels of depression," McDaniel was quoted as saying in the
Maternal and Child Health Journal.
McDaniel and colleagues from
Brigham Young University surveyed 157 new mothers about their media use
and their well-being. The moms were all first-time parents with only one
child under the age of 18 months -- most much younger than this,
according to a university statement.
The researchers report
that blogging had a positive impact on new mothers, but social
networking -- mainly Facebook and MySpace -- did not seem to impact
their well-being.
"We're not saying that those who end up
feeling more supported all of a sudden no longer have stresses, they're
still going to have those stressful moments you have as a parent," said
McDaniel.
"But because they're feeling more supported, their
thoughts and their feelings about that stress might change, and they
begin to feel less stressed about those things."
Researchers
found that 61 percent of the mothers surveyed wrote their own blogs and
76 percent read blogs. Eighty-nine percent of the mothers who wrote
their own blogs did so to "document personal experiences or share them
with others," and 86 percent wanted to stay in touch with family and
friends through the blog.
Sarah M. Coyne and Erin K. Holmes,
assistant professors, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University,
also worked on this research.
Blogging de-stresses new mothers
