MUM DEPRESSION FINDINGS

MOTHERS who experience depression during the late stages of pregnancy and after giving birth are more likely to have kids with a specific behaviour disorder, according to new research.

Australian and UK researchers from Curtin University and the University of Queensland say those children are likely to develop oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), a type of behaviour disorder characterised by angry moods, and argumentative and defiant behaviour.

In the population-based birth cohort study of 7994 mother-offspring pairs, maternal peri-natal depressive symptoms were associated with offspring ODD.

Persistent depressive symptoms in mothers during pregnancy and the post-partum period were associated with a fourfold increased risk of ODD over time, the research also showed.