Depression during Pregnancy may Create Psychiatric Problems for your Teenager

A recent study shows that mothers were depressed during their pregnancy are more likely to have teenagers with psychiatric problems.

According to researchers from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, they found that post-partum depression was often linked to a child's mental state after birth. However, it might be for different reasons than you think. For instance, the findings show a stark contrast to a previous hypothesis where researchers claim that depression is only statistically significant if it continues past birth.

"It should be treated during pregnancy, irrespective of if it continues during birth. It's as important during pregnancy," lead study author Rebecca Pearson said, via Reuters, adding that it is important that mothers have therapy services available to them while they are carrying children. There has also been a lot of controversy over the years regarding whether pregnant women should take antidepressants.

The researchers examined data from an extensive study that followed English pregnant women who were due in 1991 and 1992. Over the next 16 and 17 years,
researchers gave the families surveys regarding emotional behavior. When the children turned 18, the study notes that about eight percent of the 4,500 kids surveyed gave reports that they'd experienced bouts of depression. Teenagers were 47 percent more likely to be depressed if their mothers were more depressed during pregnancy.

"Postpartum depression seems to have a negative impact on children's development because it affects how responsive mothers are to their babies," Laura Scaramella, who has studied maternal depression, but was not involved in this study, said. "It inhibits their ability to really attend to and respond to their baby."

The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.