postpartum depression
(Boston) -- The joys of motherhood for many women can also lead other new moms to experience postpartum depression and even worse -- ideas for committing suicide.
(Boston) ? Psychotherapists who treat mothers suffering from postpartum depression and other mood disorders with their infants have developed a proven process that contributes to a greater positive experience with immediate insights for the mothers to develop healthy connections between their maternal experiences and their infants' behaviors.
Heather Rupp, assistant scientist at The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, has received a $423,500 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study the mechanisms behind postpartum depression, a condition that can interfere with a new mother's ability to care for her baby.
Mothers of multiples have 43 percent increased odds of having moderate to severe depressive symptoms nine months after giving birth compared to mothers of single-born children, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Postpartum depression is a serious?and often undiagnosed?condition affecting about 10 to 12 percent of new mothers. Some of the causes might include personal history of depression, stressful life events, and lack of social, financial or emotional support. Left untreated, it can have lasting negative effects not only on the mother but on her child's development.
Women who have higher levels of a hormone produced by the placenta midway through pregnancy appear more likely to develop postpartum depression, a study authored by a UC Irvine researcher finds.
A new study offers a possible solution to address postpartum depression. The study results indicated that, regardless of whether new mothers have relatively mild cases of the blues or incapacitating episodes of major depression, pediatricians can and should play a key role in keeping these women from slipping through the cracks. "Despite the fact that mothers want to turn to their pediatricians to talk about stress and depression, they fear being judged," says study co-author Amy Heneghan, MD. "Our research shows how very important it is for the pediatrician and the mother to develop a trusting relationship so that she will have an opportunity to talk about things that cause family stress."
