The Importance Of Post-Partum Depression

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Post-partum depression, also known as postnatal depression, is a disorder that affects a woman’s mood after giving birth (Postpartum Depression Facts, n.d.). When women give birth, the hormonal levels diminish and causes anxiety, sadness, and fatigue. Post-partum depression does not only affect the mother but it also affects the newborn baby. The mother does not want to provide for the child, she thinks that she is not able to take care of him/her. Since the mother is not mentally capable to take care of the baby, the post-partum depression takes a toll on the baby. The effect of parent postpartum depression on infants can have a big impact with their development. The depression affects the baby’s four domains of development: physical, cognitive, …show more content…
The purpose of the study was to know if post-partum depression was linked with the mother’s humor, the child’s attachment and the development and behavior of the child. The participants were 101 Caucasian mothers and their healthy infants whose weight was over five and a half pounds. The study was composed of four exam visits to the laboratory when the child was two weeks, six weeks, four months, and fourteen months old. The exam consisted of three different categories: Maternal psychopathology, Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, and post-partum bonding questionnaire. The maternal psychopathology was examined through a scale check list that included paranoia, depression and anxiety. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale measured the mother’s depression symptoms. Lastly, the post-partum bonding questionnaire evaluated the distractions in the mother’s connection between babies and toddlers. The results of the post-partum bonding questionnaire concluded that mother interaction were balanced throughout time. On the other hand, the results of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale showed that mothers who had post-partum depression symptoms during the four months had a less balanced interaction model. This was shown before the second week of the infants age and carried on until the fourteen months of the infants age. The maternal psychopathology results showed that post-partum depression symptoms resulted during the infant-mother interaction at six weeks of life but later diminishing at four months old. One limitation that Moehler et al. (2006) mentioned is that the study did not have a control group. If the study would be done again with a control group, an investigation should be done if whether depression treatment could have an impact on the relationship of post-partum depression and the damage of mother-child interaction. Even

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