Mums bore the brunt of school closures during the Covid lockdown, an "incredibly concerning" new study has found.
But the wellbeing and mental health of dads was hardly impacted, the results show.
Academics from Essex, Surrey and Birmingham universities carried out the research found women were much more likely to be left feeling depressed or to have trouble sleeping.
Their findings are based on a study on how 1,500 parents of children aged between four and 12 coped during the pandemic.
Dr Laura Fumagalli, a researcher and one of the report’s four co-authors, believes a worrying number of mums were left lacking in confidence and thinking of themselves as worthless.
She said: “The impact of having children out of school on mothers’ mental health is substantial, and an important hidden cost of lockdown.
"Our study shows – for the first time – the strain of school closures on mothers’ mental health.
“We estimate that school closures could be responsible for around half of the decline in mental health experienced by mothers during the pandemic.
"It is striking that on average fathers’ mental health does not seem to be affected by school closures.”
Mothers whose children missed the entire summer term were worst affected, the stats show.
The data came from Understanding Society, the UK Longitudinal Study, and was collected in April, May, June, July, September and November 2021.
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson, spokesperson on health, wellbeing and social care, told The Guardian that the findings are worrying.
She said: “The findings of this study are incredibly concerning. Incredible parents, in particular mothers who disproportionately shouldered the colossal burden of juggling home schooling and work during the pandemic, are physically and mentally exhausted.
“Maternal mental health has suffered gravely through multiple lockdowns, and lacklustre support from the government has simply not helped matters.
“Mums must feel like they have had the rug swept out from underneath them.
"The forthcoming public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic must look into its impact on mental health as a matter of priority."
