Effect of post-natal depression on child devt

Post-natal depression, also known as postpartum depression, is a mental health disorder that occurs after childbirth.

Studies show that more than 1.5 million cases occur per year in Nigeria but the good news is that it is treatable.

Reports say that those who develop postpartum depression are at greater risk of developing major depression later on in life.

Available research suggests that postnatal depression is associated with increased risks to children’s development affecting a range of domains.

Researchers from the Universities of Oxford, Bristol, Reading and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in a new paper in JAMA Psychiatry tracked changes in mothers’ depressive symptoms following the postnatal year and differences in children’s development when postnatal depression was, or was not, persistent.

The authors investigated whether depression has a similar impact when it is, or is not, persistent at either moderate or severe levels.

The effects are said to be variable with some evidence suggesting that brief episodes, while distressing to the mother, may not impact negatively on children’s development.

However, episodes of depression which persist for six months or more in duration may increase the risk for children. Identifying women at most risk is important both for women’s mental health and children’s development.

Postnatal depression which is persistent (whether moderate or severe) increases mothers’ risk of continuing to experience depressive symptoms beyond the postnatal year, with high levels found up until 11 years after childbirth.

Some of the symptoms include; insomnia, loss of appetite, intense irritability and difficulty bonding with the baby but lack of treatment for the condition may last months or longer.

Treatment can include counselling, antidepressants or hormone therapy.