Unsurprisingly, a study shows that the “stress cost” of having a kid is huge, but it may be more complicated than you think. Becoming a parent is one of the most stressful things you’ll experience, but if you’re looking for more quantitative info, economists Hielke Buddelmeyer, Daniel Hamermesh, and Mark Wooden have some numbers for you.

The trio went above and beyond the costs of materially caring for a kid, and also incorporated the “stress cost” as well. According to their findings, it would take $66,000 to compensate a mother just for the additional stress caused by one of their children.

The economists used longitudinal studies of adults in Australia and Germany, which included more than 7,000 married couples who were tracked for about ten years. The findings showed that it was very clear that parents are more stressed than non-parents, and that mothers in particular have a longer-lasting stress burden than fathers.

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