Report: Postpartum depression has lasting effects

New mothers can experience symptoms for at least 3 years

The “baby blues” that women can experience after giving birth usually go away within a week or two, but it now appears that more severe depressive symptoms, known as postpartum depression, may affect some new mothers for at least three years.

Research from the National Institutes of Health, which tracked 4,866 women for three years after childbirth, found that about 25% of the women reported moderate to high levels of depressive symptoms at some point and that the remaining 75% experienced low-level depressive symptoms throughout the study.

The “baby blues” typically include such symptoms as mood swings, anxiety and trouble sleeping, whereas postpartum depression symptoms — generally more intense and longer lasting — may include excessive crying, overwhelming fatigue, loss of appetite, difficulty bonding with the baby, feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness and more.

The NIH research, published in the journal Pediatrics, encourages pediatricians to screen their tiny patients’ mothers for depressive symptoms during the children’s regular checkups, noting that “mothers’ mental health is critical to children’s well-being and development.”

The researchers note that maternal depression increases a child’s risk for cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems.

Getting treatment, however, should not only ease a mother’s symptoms but also improve her child’s odds for a favorable developmental outcome.