How can reducing parental stress impact a baby’s early development?

Photo credit: Flintside

Yes, mental health includes babies.

Every baby’s development begins with the foundation shaped by their relationships with family and caregivers.

When parents are stressed by financial insecurity, that stress often negatively affects pregnancy outcomes, newborn health, and the earliest stages of infant and early childhood mental health. Reducing that stress by ensuring families have the resources they need strengthens the conditions for babies to thrive.

In Michigan, an innovative program called Rx Kids is showing how bold, evidence-based investments can shift those conditions in measurable ways. Within months of launching, the community-wide prenatal and infant cash program was linked to an 18% drop in preterm births, a 27% reduction in low birthweight, and a 29% reduction in NICU admissions compared to the previous year and similar Michigan cities. This prevented nearly 60 hospitalizations annually and generated an estimated $6.2 million in health care savings.

Building on this success, the FY 25–26 state budget in Michigan includes $270 million to be invested in Rx Kids, the state’s cash, no-strings prescription program for families during pregnancy and infancy. The funding will be used over three years to expand and sustain this groundbreaking model.

We are proud to highlight this initiative because it demonstrates a powerful truth: breaking cycles of poverty measurably improves early development and reduces costly consequences for society. For us, the message is clear—when families have the resources they need from the very beginning, babies and communities flourish.

I’ve spent much of my career as a pediatrician in Flint, Michigan, a city with one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation. While my patients face a number of health challenges, none is more pervasive, or more damaging, than the stress of poverty. I’ve seen how even a few hundred dollars can shift the trajectory of a family’s life: helping a mother afford rent and diapers, or allowing them to fix the car that gets them to prenatal care.

I’ve seen how even a few hundred dollars can shift the trajectory of a family’s life.

Dr. Mona Hanna, Director of RX Kids

Rx Kids was designed to intervene during pregnancy and infancy, a time when financial strain is at its peak and the stakes for child development are highest. Chronic stress during this period doesn’t just affect parents, it directly impacts babies, interfering with bonding, delaying developmental milestones, and even affecting a baby’s brain growth. When families have financial breathing room, they’re able to prioritize their health and make decisions that nurture their children. Through Rx Kids, we are seeing mothers access prenatal care earlier, babies born healthier, less stress among parents, and families that are more financially secure. We hear repeatedly from moms that they can “breathe”, have “freedom from worrying”, and that a “weight has been lifted.” Supporting parents means supporting babies and strengthening the future of entire communities.

There is a proven link between maternal mental health and prenatal brain development.

Reducing parental stress can help with a baby’s early development by creating that much-needed security giving the family more bonding time by not having as much stress on their shoulders.

When a baby comes, it can be difficult adjusting to a new life, especially if it was a difficult pregnancy or delivery. When parents have added stress, it makes the adjusting process even more complicated. But by reducing stress for that mother and father during those early times through financial support, like with the RxKids program, that extra bit of help allows the family to focus more on nurturing and bonding together, not on financial insecurities that they may be facing during that time.

The program allowed me to focus more on my health, my daughter's health and my family, rather than the financial challenges we were facing when my husband was injured and couldn't work.

Kinea Wright, Parent Advocate

From a personal perspective, the RxKids program gave us security when we were going through challenges. I wasn’t expecting difficult times and I actually was not about to apply for the program. I thank God that I did, because when my daughter was 5 months old, my husband got injured at work and wasn’t able to collect short term disability. But because I had applied for the program, we had that safety net and were able to supplement some of the money that he was bringing in.

The program allowed me to focus more on my health, my daughter’s health and my family, rather than the financial challenges we were facing when my husband was injured and couldn’t work. Programs such as RxKids provide more freedom for families and reduces burdens so they can focus on other important aspects.

The science and data are clear. Investing as early as possible into infants, toddlers and their families just makes sense- financially, scientifically, socially and economically. Since mental health is the foundation for all development, and babies’ mental health is dependent on their parent’s mental health, it is the wisest investment to support babies and families during this critical time of intense growth, from prenatal to three years of age. This begins with supporting families to be able to provide the most stable and nurturing environments for their families; this is at the heart of Rx Kids.

Mental health is the foundation for all development, and babies’ mental health is dependent on their parent’s mental health.

Meghan Schmelzer, MSW, IECMH-E

Every day we see the devastating consequences and cost of not investing in our babies and communities. Dr. Mona and her team have shown that Rx Kids is the smartest investment we can make to ensure that our babies get the strongest start in life, and when that happens, we all benefit.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed October 20-24 as Celebrate Babies Week.

“The state is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for infants, toddlers, young children, and their families through strategic investments, continued collaboration, and strategic partnerships.”

View our Baby Brain Map to learn more about early brain development. — Advertisement

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