Emergencies, whether natural disasters or health crises, are unsettling for everyone, especially for families with newborns. For new parents, ensuring an infant’s safety during emergencies adds another layer of responsibility, given their unique needs and dependence on caregivers. A comprehensive emergency preparedness plan that considers these needs can help families respond effectively when faced with unforeseen challenges. From safeguarding an infant against infection to preparing for a natural disaster, let’s look at steps parents can take to ensure their baby’s well-being in critical situations.

Parents Preparing for Emergencies with Infants

Infants, as highlighted by Child Care Aware of America, have distinct needs that should be part of any emergency planning. Due to their complete dependence on caregivers and inability to communicate or self-mobilize, infants require particular attention in emergencies.

1. Complete Dependence on Caregivers

Infants rely on caregivers for all needs—feeding, comfort, and protection. In emergencies, this dependence intensifies. Preparing a plan that includes specific roles and responsibilities for each caregiver can reduce confusion and ensure the infant’s needs are met swiftly.

2. Identification and Communication Challenges

Infants cannot identify themselves or family members, which may complicate family reunification after a disaster. Ensure each caregiver has proper identification information for the child and, if possible, place identification tags on the infant’s clothing.

3. Limited Mobility

Infants and young children cannot walk, making it necessary to plan how to safely transport them during evacuations. Whether using a sturdy infant carrier or stroller, ensure that transportation is both safe and manageable in various situations.

4. Physical Vulnerabilities

Infants have delicate bodies that are more susceptible to harm during emergencies. Thus, securing them with appropriate equipment and avoiding exposure to hazardous items are essential during evacuation or while sheltering in place.

5. Nutritional Needs

Breastfeeding can play a crucial role in emergencies, as outlined by UNICEF. During crises, a mother’s breast milk remains a reliable source of nutrition, even when access to food or clean water is limited. Breastfeeding not only nourishes but also strengthens the infant’s immune system, making it especially beneficial when sanitary conditions are compromised.

6. Emotional Needs and Routine

Infants thrive on routines, which provide them with a sense of security and comfort. Try to maintain regular feeding, sleeping, and comforting practices during an emergency to help your baby feel safe and supported.

How to Build an Emergency Supply Kit

An emergency kit tailored for an infant goes beyond standard supplies. Here’s a list of essentials that can provide comfort and safety for the infant during a crisis:

- Nutrition Supplies: Ensure you have enough breast milk storage containers or formula, depending on the infant’s dietary needs. If breastfeeding, include extra sanitary wipes and blankets.

- Comfort Items: Items like pacifiers, small toys, and blankets can help soothe an infant and create a sense of normalcy.

- Sanitation Supplies: Pack baby wipes, hand sanitizer, diapers, and extra clothes. Cleanliness is critical to protecting an infant’s health during a prolonged emergency.

- Health Essentials: If your infant takes any specific medications, pack these as well. Include a thermometer and basic infant first-aid supplies.

Emergency Tips for Families with Infants

In emergencies requiring evacuation, parents should be ready with an infant-focused plan. Here are some essential tips:

1. Practice Emergency Drills: Make emergency drills a regular routine, even if it’s just a simple evacuation plan. Include infants in these drills, carrying them in the same way you would during a real emergency.

2. Keep Essential Items Handy: Designate a go-bag with infant supplies in an easily accessible place. In case of a quick exit, this bag should contain all necessary items to support your baby’s well-being for at least 72 hours.

3. Coordinate with Caregivers: If you’re away from your infant, ensure the alternate caregiver has access to the emergency plan and knows where to locate essential supplies.

Protecting Infants from Infections

Aside from preparing for natural disasters, safeguarding an infant from infections is another aspect of emergency preparedness. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, so following these health tips can minimize exposure to illness:

- Avoid visitors displaying symptoms of infection around your infant. If anyone is unwell, politely decline their visit to prioritize your baby’s health.

- Always ask visitors to wash their hands before handling the baby. Hand washing is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection.

- Parents, siblings, and caregivers should receive the flu vaccine and any other necessary immunizations, as newborns can’t receive certain vaccines until they are older. Immunizing the household adds a layer of protection for the baby.

- Breastfeeding provides essential antibodies that help the baby’s immune system. Even in difficult conditions, breastfeeding is beneficial as it offers essential nutrients and immunological protection.

- During the first few weeks, try to avoid crowded places to reduce the infant’s exposure to infections. Necessary outings, like doctor visits, are acceptable but should be carefully managed.

Are more and more women delaying their motherhood in the United States? Data seems to show this trend. The average age of mothers at childbirth in the United States have continued to rise. A new report released on June 13 by the National Vital Statistic System (NVSS), provides the shift in age trends between 2016 and 2023. The study, conducted by Andrea D. Brown, Ph.D., M.P.H., and her colleagues at the National Center for Health Statistics.

A Shift Towards Later Motherhood

The researchers found a clear increase in the mean age of mothers at the time of their first birth. In 2016, the average age of a first-time mother was 26.6 years. By 2023, this had risen to 27.5 years — nearly a full year’s difference in just seven years.

But the trend isn’t limited to first-time mothers. For women having their second child, the average age rose by one year, while those giving birth to a third child or beyond saw an increase of 0.9 years. These shifts reflect a broader societal trend toward delayed childbearing, often influenced by factors such as education, career planning, financial stability, and access to reproductive health services.

What The Trends Show Across Demographics

Notably, the increase in maternal age was observed across all racial and ethnic groups, with rises ranging from 0.4 to 1.4 years between 2016 and 2023. This indicates that the pattern of delayed childbearing is not confined to one particular group but is a nationwide phenomenon affecting diverse communities.

Urbanization also plays a role. The report shows a consistent rise in maternal age at first birth across all types of counties — from densely populated urban areas to rural regions. Women living in large metropolitan counties had the highest mean age at first birth in 2023, averaging 28.5 years. In contrast, women in noncore (rural) counties had the lowest average at 24.8 years. Nonetheless, even these rural areas experienced an increase in age, with the average rising by 0.7 to 0.9 years depending on the county type.

“The mean age of mothers at childbirth in the United States increased from 2016 through 2023, continuing the long-term trend toward delayed childbearing,” the authors noted. This upward shift builds on similar findings from previous years and highlights a steady cultural change in how and when women choose to have children.

Delaying childbirth can have both benefits and challenges. On one hand, it often correlates with improved financial and emotional readiness, access to healthcare, and better outcomes for children. On the other hand, advanced maternal age can also bring higher risks for complications during pregnancy and childbirth, making ongoing medical monitoring and support essential.

Why Does It Matter?

Understanding maternal age trends helps public health experts, policymakers, and healthcare providers better plan for the needs of pregnant women and infants. It also reflects broader shifts in societal expectations, gender roles, and reproductive choices in the United States today.

As this trend continues, experts are calling for more inclusive policies and better support systems for parents — no matter when they decide to start their families.

Only about one in four mothers in the United States now say they are in “excellent” mental or physical health, according to a new study that reveals a sharp decline in maternal well-being over the past several years. The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Tuesday, underscore growing concerns around the mental health crisis affecting American families—especially mothers.

A Steep Decline Over Time

The study analyzed health data from 198,417 mothers with children under the age of 18, tracking changes from 2016 to 2023. Researchers found a significant drop in self-reported mental health among mothers during this period, with a smaller but still notable decline in physical health.

Using a four-point scale (excellent, very good, good, and fair/poor), the study revealed that the percentage of mothers reporting “excellent” mental health plummeted from 38.4% in 2016 to just 25.8% in 2023. At the same time, those reporting “good” mental health increased from 18.8% to 26.1%, while “fair/poor” mental health rose from 5.5% to 8.5%.

Physical health scores also declined. The proportion of moms reporting “excellent” physical health dropped from 28.0% to 23.9%. Meanwhile, the percentage describing their physical health as “good” grew from 24.3% to 28.1%, while those in the “fair/poor” category remained relatively stable.

Vulnerable Groups Hit Hardest

The mental health decline was seen across all socioeconomic groups, but it was most pronounced among single mothers, women with lower levels of education, and those whose children are covered by public insurance. These findings echo long-standing concerns about disparities in health access and outcomes among women and underserved populations.

While the study also looked at male parents and noted similar downward trends in physical and mental health, fathers consistently reported better overall health than mothers. In 2023, the gap was particularly stark, with female parents 4 percentage points more likely than male parents to report “fair/poor” mental health.

Parenting Under Pressure

This latest research builds on earlier warnings from public health officials. In 2023, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory titled "Parents Under Pressure," which called attention to the toll caregiving takes on mental health.

“The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society,” Murthy wrote. “The well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children.”

The authors of the JAMA study echoed that sentiment, linking their findings to broader national health trends, including rising rates of depression and anxiety among reproductive-age women.

What’s Behind the Decline?

While the study did not explore specific causes, researchers cited several possible contributors to the ongoing decline in maternal mental health. These include:

• Limited access to mental health services
• Social isolation
• Increased substance use disorders
• Broader societal stressors such as inflation, systemic racism, gun violence, and climate change

The authors also referenced a growing body of research suggesting that maternal health may be an early warning sign of declining public health overall, writing: “Our findings are supportive of the claim made by some scholars that maternal mortality may be a canary in the coal mine for women’s health more broadly.”

As concerns around maternal mental health intensify, the study highlights the urgent need for more targeted policies and accessible support systems to improve the well-being of mothers—and by extension, their children and families.

Men's Mental Health Week is a movement that highlights the unique mental health challenges men face. It encourages open communication, emotional connection, and breaking the stigma over vulnerability. Through early intervention, emotional literacy, and support structures, the week seeks to empower men towards prioritizing mental health without shame.

We make men out of boys to be tough, bold, and brave, but at what expense? Studies reveal that stifling emotions early in life can have long-term effects. Anxiety, depression, addiction, and anger disorders tend to stem from childhood environments where emotions were discouraged. Yet, the world still encourages boys to be emotionally stoic, confusing silence with strength and holding things in as bravery.

Men's Mental Health Week highlights these problems, providing an international forum to break down the cultural, psychological, and emotional barriers that isolate men from themselves and from others. This year, the theme is concise but powerful: emotional fluency is strength. With mental health specialists, educators, and parents uniting, a message emerges clearly—change begins early. And it starts not only by instructing boys what not to feel, but by demonstrating them how to feel, express, and process what's inside.

When Boys Are Taught to Suppress, Men Struggle to Cope

A lot of adults nowadays are products of a childhood in which emotional expression was discouraged—particularly among boys. The "man up" culture instructed them to swallow their tears, muzzle their fears, and cover up their insecurities. But emotions don't go away just because they're suppressed. Unaddressed emotions seep through later in life as anxiety, irritability, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, or aberrant relationships. Men who weren't instructed in emotional skills become men who chase emotional anesthetization because they never learned to feel safely to begin with.

One of the most prevalent emotional coping strategies for men is blame—an outward deflection of internal conflict. When painful emotions such as fear, sadness, or shame are not worked through internally, they start to spill over. Rather than labeling or working with such feelings, men tend to resort to blaming others: their girlfriends, their coworkers, or even themselves.

Blame is an easy release valve—a means of pushing off discomfort instead of dealing with it. It tastes invigorating for a moment but has permanent harm. In one anecdotal example, a man describes how his unaddressed anger ultimately poisoned the people he loved the most. It wasn't until he noticed this pattern and the hurt behind it that healing and authentic connection started for him.

Why Emotional Awareness Isn't Soft

Educating boys about emotional awareness isn't about making them "soft." Instead, it makes them better decision-makers, more accomplished relationship-builders, and more resilient grown men. When men know what they feel, they gain the power to decide how to react, rather than blindly reacting.

This emotional intelligence does not only assist men in dealing with conflict—it assists them in flourishing. Whether selecting a profession that would value their principles, establishing supportive partnerships, or being emotionally available dads, emotional fluency opens doors, instead of closing them.

Teaching Boys the Language of Emotions

So, how do we start? Body awareness is the foundation. Emotions appear initially in the form of bodily sensations—tightness in the chest, lump in the throat, flutter in the belly. It is important to teach boys to identify these warnings and link them with emotional events.

Then parents and teachers can help enable safe emotional expression. When a boy tells you how he's feeling, don't correct him or tell him to "toughen up." Instead, respond with curiosity and compassion. Ask questions such as, "What do you think made you feel that way?" or "What do you need in this moment?" This both affirms his experience and builds his emotional vocabulary.

Along the way, this establishes trust—with oneself and others. Someday, when these boys become men and find themselves with other men—maybe in locker rooms, workplaces, or group texts—they won't tumble into emotionally dysfunctional patterns such as teasing, denial, or aggression. Instead, they'll have the skills to respond in ways that demonstrate emotional maturity.

Restoring masculinity doesn't involve abandoning it—it involves redefining it. The most powerful men aren't the ones who never weep or get wounded. They're the ones who notice when they have, own up to it, and learn from it.

True masculinity, in the best possible way, is based on empathy, responsibility, and self-mastery. When boys are instructed that emotions aren't vulnerabilities but indicators—like hunger or tiredness—they no longer fear exposure and begin to cherish authenticity.

Parents play a critical role here. Modeling emotional openness, apologizing when you’ve overreacted, or simply sharing your own feelings openly can set a powerful example for your sons. Remember- when boys feel safe being emotionally honest at home, they carry that strength into every part of their lives.