Postpartum depression shorter children

Postpartum depression shorter children,A new study published in the journal "Pediatrics" shows that a mother's postpartum depression may cause her children to be shorter later in their lives. The report reviewed a child's height when they were four or five years old and then compared those numbers against the fact that the mothers experienced postpartum depression. The time period of the depression had to be nine months after the child was born.

The researchers tracked more than 6,000 moms and their babies. They established that when the moms stated that they had moderate to severe symptoms of depression in the nine months after they delivered, their children had a 50% higher chance of being shorter than their peers in kindergarten. The study doesn't give a reason as to why these children end up shorter. However, the researchers are still checking into that according to the report's lead author Pamela J. Surkan who is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Researchers explained that the mom's depression may also set off stress in the children, and that high levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, are connected with the lower levels of the hormone in children. Surkan and her team state that even though they found a connection between the mother's depression and shorter children, it doesn't mean that the maternal depression caused the children to be shorter.

Surkan also noted that maternal depression might make it hard for the mom to take care of her nurturing duties.

“We think that mothers who are depressed or blue might have a hard time following through with care giving tasks,” Surkan said. “We know that children of depressed mothers often suffer from poor attachment and the depression seems to have effects on other developmental outcomes. It makes sense that mothers who have depressive symptoms might have reduced ability to take care of infants, that they might not always pick up cues from their kids.”

The researchers agreed that diagnosing and treating symptoms of depression early in pregnant women could prevent postpartum symptoms of depression and possible delays in growth in preschool and school-aged children.

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source: examiner