Prospective investigation of postpartum depression: factors involved in onset and recovery

Article Abstract:

Pregnancy brings about a number of important changes in marital, family, and social roles that may contribute to postpartum depression. If postpartum depression occurs, it can be devastating for all involved as it interferes with bonding and attachment, and the acquisition of mothering skills. The consequences can be particularly severe for the infant. Researchers have identified three types of postpartum depressive states: maternity blues, which are transient and characterized by relatively mild sadness and tearfulness; postpartum psychosis, which is severe and warrants inpatient treatment; and postpartum depression, which is similar in characteristics to depression occurring at other times of life. It is estimated that 3 to 14 percent of pregnancies are complicated by postpartum depression, and there is some evidence that its occurrence may be linked to a prior history of psychiatric disorder or to a family history of psychiatric disorder. There is ongoing debate as to whether depression during pregnancy is correlated with postpartum depression. An understanding of the importance of psychosocial variables is important as well, and was the focus of this study. A total of 730 women were followed prospectively during the course of their pregnancies and until one month after childbirth. Demographic variables were recorded, and data on mental status were obtained throughout the period. The women were questioned about stress, marital satisfaction, and their perceptions of their parents; coping style was recorded along with any evidence of dysfunctional cognitions such as depressive thoughts. The rate of postpartum depression was 4.9 percent (32 women of the 655 who were not depressed during pregnancy.) Correlations were found between occurrence of postpartum depression and presence of symptoms of depression during pregnancy, and between postpartum depression and how subjects perceived their own parents' caregiving. Depressive symptoms during pregnancy were linked to marital discord, styles of coping that emphasized escape and avoidance, and perceived stress. The course of recovery from depression was not linked to the factors studied. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Risk factors, Pregnant women

---

Infants of postpartum depressed mothers: temperament and cognitive status

Article Abstract:

Previous studies have indicated a relationship between depression in new mothers and behavioral and emotional problems in their children. This study examined the effect of postpartum depression upon the infants of these women. Negative perceptions of the depressed women regarding their children were evaluated and the extent to which these negative perceptions influenced the children was also examined. Twenty-five women diagnosed with postpartum depression and 25 normal women were evaluated, along with their two-month-old infants. A link was sought between maternal depression and the development of specific infant characteristics. Mothers answered questions regarding difficulties of infant care and assessed the temperaments of the infants. The infants were measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The results suggested that there is a relationship and an identifiable pattern associated with postpartum depression and infant behavior. The depressed mothers more frequently perceived difficulties in caring for their children. They also found their infants more bothersome than the nondepressed mothers did. When the infants of the depressed women were tested, they expressed more negative emotional responses than the infants belonging to the nondepressed mothers. This implies that these children are more sensitive to stress; this may be further aggravated by the depressive behavior of the mother, which might result in less efficient infant care. However, none of the mothers believed the problems were a result of the temperament of their babies. In conclusion, these two-month-old infants of depressed mothers had already shown clinically distinguishable features from the infants of the normal mothers, and depressed mothers had lower levels of tolerance for their infants. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Pediatric diseases, Child development deviations, Developmental disabilities, Syndromes in children, Syndromes, Mother and infant, Mother-infant relations

---

Adjustment of children of depressed mothers: a 10-month follow-up

Article Abstract:

It is thought that children of depressed mothers have a variety of related difficulties in social and emotional adjustment, but the origins of their difficulties are unknown. One study, for example, found that difficulties were not related to mother's depression, but to mother's psychological distress in general. In a previous, study the authors found that 7- to 13-year-old children of nondepressed arthritic mothers and nondepressed mothers in the community were less likely to have adjustment difficulties than same-age children of depressed mothers and nondepressed mothers who had other psychiatric problems. The authors have now conducted a 10-month follow-up on 44 of the subjects involved in the prior study. The follow-up sample consisted of 12 depressed outpatients, 9 nondepressed outpatients, and 23 community women and their children. Psychological stress was rated for all the mothers, and the children's emotional and social adjustment were assessed as well. These results were compared with the original data gathered 10 months earlier. Mothers' symptoms of depression were significantly improved over the period, but children's improvements, while evident, lagged behind. Specifically, children improved least during the 10 months on internalizing behavior as reported by mothers and observed by clinicians. This suggests that the adjustment difficulties experienced by children of psychologically distressed mothers do not diminish as quickly as their mothers' symptoms. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Children, Mother and child, Mother-child relations, Adjustment (Psychology)

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: A prospective study of disordered eating among sorority and nonsororoty women. Night eating syndrome among nonobese persons
• Abstracts: Predictors of posttraumatic stress disorders following cancer. Predictors of posttraumatic growth following bone marrow transplantation for cancer
• Abstracts: A prospective comparison of four insanity defense standards. Diagnostic legitimacy of factitious disorder with psychological symptoms
• Abstracts: Screening for dysfunction in the children of outpatients at a psychopharmacology clinic. Adjunctive buspirone in benzodiazepine treatment of four patients with panic disorder
• Abstracts: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and its clinical significance among Southeast Asian refugees. Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in Southeast Asian refugees

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.