How Maternity Affects Students’ Performance in College

Being a mother and being a student can be quite challenging at times. See how being a young mother can affect students’ ability to perform well in school.

  

Parenthood can be a beautiful and magical period in people’s lives. Yet, it also comes with a range of challenges and hardships that can significantly affect parents’ lives. It’s also fair to note that young mothers often have the hardest time adjusting their lives, especially if they are still in college. The pursuit of higher education is a difficult period in young people’s lives on its own. Yet, with the addition of motherhood, it can turn into a real issue. Failing to combine these two very different and yet highly demanding aspects can have a big impact on one’s performance in college. Let’s see how maternity can affect students’ performance in college. 

Lack of sleep

First and foremost, young mothers rarely get enough sleep during the night. A good night’s sleep, though, can be instrumental in one’s good performance in school. We need good rest to help us stay more focused, alarmed, and sharp. Moreover, the lack of sleep can also affect one’s mood. Suffering from sleep deprivation for a prolonged period of time can also lead to other health issues, such as lack of appetite and headaches, as well as mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression. 

Needless to say that young mothers have to get up several times per night to calm their babies and feed them. Such a necessity affects their ability to rest and be fresh and ready for the classes in the morning. Moreover, constant sleep deprivation will affect one’s ability to receive and process new information or comprehensively explain ideas. 

Shift in priorities

Being a mother is the highest responsibility a person can take on themselves. Everything changes once you have a child, and your priorities surely shift. This enhanced feeling of responsibility is quite difficult to deal with at first. Everything is new and different. Yet, students’ priorities most certainly shift. Now mothers have a young child to take care of. Everything else becomes their secondary priority, even studies. 

Of course, such a shift will, at some point, negatively affect one’s academic performance. It is to be expected. However, mothers can still work hard on keeping their academic life somewhat a priority along with their parenthood. However, such an attempt will require a lot of energy and effort from young mothers. 

Financial struggle 

A financial struggle can seriously affect a student's performance in college. It’s rather difficult to focus on studying when you are not sure how to pay for the bills or what to make for dinner on a tight budget. It gets even worse when you have a child to take care of at home. Young parents need a good financial pillow to make things work. Everything about childcare is expensive. From diapers to baby food, parents’ daily expenses grow constantly. 

However, students can’t have much free time on their hands to find extra jobs. Thus, sometimes, young mothers have to choose between keeping a few free hours for studying and getting a part-time job to support their children financially. Of course, choosing the latter will eventually affect one’s academic performance. Surely, with a bit of extra money, one can look for academic paid help as well. However, one also needs time to read platforms similar to ScamFighter and find services to like and afford. 

Moreover, childcare and babysitters also cost money that not all young mothers have. Yet, without proper childcare, a mother has no time for studying. In fact, they won’t even have a chance to attend classes when there is no one to leave their child with. Thus, the lack of a support system can play a crucial factor in a mother’s ability to keep up with her studies and maintain good academic performance. Fortunately, many universities are ready to provide their students with the necessary childcare at affordable prices. However, not all colleges have such services.

Mental changes

Becoming a parent comes with several rather drastic life changes. First of all, a mother learns to understand that her life doesn’t belong just to her anymore. It is also their child’s now, as anything that they do, and anything that happens to them, affects the kid, too. Overall, small babies are very demanding. They are completely dependent on their parents and require constant attention and catering. Such a transition into being someone’s 24/7 caregiver often takes a toll on women's mental health. 

Usually, the first few months after giving birth are the hardest for mothers on several levels. Young mothers don’t fully know what to do and how. Their brain and psychological state haven’t transitioned into the strong mother mode yet. So keeping up with a child’s care can be mentally exhausting and very stressful. Of course, such a mental state will also affect a woman’s academic performance, as they may be overly stressed and depressed to have any energy left for studying.