When Mom's Depressed, What Happens to the Kids?

Recent studies have revealed that at least one in eight--and as many as one in five--mothers develop symptoms of mental disorder in the year after giving birth. This can mean the sort of postpartum depression we tend to think about when we think about disordered moms, but it can also mean other things: anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or any combination of disorders. Such illness is also not necessarily confined to the postpartum period: In one 2013 study of 10,000 postpartum women, researchers found that 14 percent had depression four to six weeks after birth. For a third of them, however, the depression actually started during pregnancy. Another 2013 study assessed 461 women at two postpartum points--two weeks and then six months--and found that each time the number of women who had obsessive-compulsive symptoms was 11 percent, a figure that's four times the rate for the general population of women. In some ways, these findings are good news. For the longest time, maternal mental illness was unrealized or hidden, which of course made it difficult to study, never mind treat. But by increasing awareness, new research is helping to remove the stigma of maternal depression while also increasing the likelihood that a woman may first recognize her own symptoms and then get the help she needs. What researchers don't quite know is why some women develop these illnesses while others don't. Genetics and other predispositions play a part. Hormones may also...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news