The state of depression of a mother after delivery affects the growth of children, particularly their height, a new study reveals.
Postpartum depression (PPD) or postnatal depression is moderate to severe depression that affects a woman after she gives birth to a child. One out of every eight women in the U.S. is a victim of such condition.
Lead researcher Pamela Surkan at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore and colleagues looked at 10,700 children and found children of mothers suffering from post partum depression in the first year of delivery, growing shorter compared with their peers.
The participants of the study were originally part of the U.S. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort analysis. To examine the importance of mother's mental health in a child's growth, investigators followed the participants from 2001 to 2007.
The study revealed that mothers' depression in the first nine months after birth was putting the child at 40 percent higher risks of reduced growth.
"What we found is that mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms in the first year postpartum were more likely to have children who were shorter in stature in preschool and kindergarten age," Surkan told Health Day. "This study points to another reason why it's really important for mothers to get help for depression during the postpartum period."
Apart from these, the study also tried to find out the root cause that led to the occurrence. According to the researchers, maternal depression make children stressed, thus negatively affecting the children's mental health. High levels of the hormone cortisol have been well known for negatively affecting the growth hormone levels.
Though the study couldn't exactly point out the factors that led to the occurrence, according to the experts, some symptoms associated with depression like loss of appetite may be negatively affecting the nature of foods provided to the children and the feeding practices.
Other factor like insomnia that comes along with depression, sometimes makes the mother to neglect the child, thus negatively affecting the child's food and sleep routine.
Findings of the study have been published in Pediatrics.
