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 While previous research has linked clinical depression in mothers to
mood disorders and other health problems in their children, the
current study is among the first to make this connection even when
mothers have milder symptoms that might not be diagnosed or treated
by clinicians, said lead author Judith van der Waerden.
"There is a large group of mothers with depressive symptoms that are
not severe enough to lead to a diagnosis, and who probably do not
even seek help from their health care providers, but that do have a
negative impact on their children's emotional and behavioral
wellbeing," van der Waerden, a researcher at the French National
Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, said by email.
Van der Waerden and colleagues followed more than 1,100 mother-child
pairs in France from pregnancy through the children's fifth
birthdays, periodically assessing maternal mental health as well as
emotional and behavioral development of the kids.
Researchers questioned the children at age 5 to assess emotional
symptoms, conduct problems, signs of hyperactivity or inattention,
problems with peer relationships and social behavior.
In addition, researchers gave mothers questionnaires to measure
depression symptoms during pregnancy and the first year of
parenthood, as well as when the children were three and five years
old.
Sixty-two percent of the mothers experienced no signs of depression
during the study period and 4.6 percent had chronic, severe
depression. About one in four had persistent moderate depression
symptoms.
For some women, severe depression happened for a shorter period of
time, with 3.6 percent of mothers experiencing this only during
pregnancy and 4.6 percent only when children were preschoolers.
Children whose mothers were depressed only during their preschool
years had the greatest level of behavioral and emotional problems,
while kids whose mothers were only depressed during pregnancy didn't
have any difficulties in these areas.
Women with chronic depression, whether moderate or more severe, had
kids with some emotional or behavioral issues, the study found.
The results add to a growing body of research linking maternal
depression to developmental problems in their children, said Erika
Forbes, a child psychology researcher at the University of
Pittsburgh. Generally, though, children are more at risk when
families have other problems such as financial hardship or marital
stress, Forbes, who wasn't involved in the current study, said by
email.
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The heightened risk experienced by preschoolers in the study
suggests that the timing of maternal depression also plays a role in
child development, Forbes said.
"During preschool, children's increasing independence but
less-than-optimal self-control can make it especially challenging
for mothers (or any caregivers) to set limits, grant autonomy and
resolve conflicts," she said. "If mothers are depressed, they might
find themselves too exhausted or emotionally taxed to engage in the
kind of vigorous parenting that preschoolers tend to need."
While many women may experience what's commonly called "baby blues"
for a few weeks after giving birth as they adjust to life with a new
infant, symptoms that don't go away or that keep women from caring
for their babies or engaging in normal activities might be
depression, said David Bridgett, director of the Emotion Regulation
and Temperament Laboratory at Northern Illinois University in
DeKalb.
Medication or therapy may help ease symptoms of depression, but
mothers might also need help learning new ways of interacting with
their children, Bridgett, who wasn't involved in the study, said by
email.
"Depression can affect parent-child interactions, which in turn, may
be one way that maternal depression affects children," he said.
"Because we know that children of mothers who are depressed are at
higher risk of behavioral and emotional problems, they may need
treatment as well."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1OiOJGH The Journal of Pediatrics, online
April 10, 2015.
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