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Depression During Pregnancy may Increase Offspring’s Risk of Mental Health Issues

by Kathy Jones on Oct 12 2013 8:33 PM

 Depression During Pregnancy may Increase Offspring’s Risk of Mental Health Issues
A new study published in the JAMA Psychiatry suggests that children born to mothers who struggled with depression during pregnancy also have a slightly increased risk of depression.
Researchers led by Dr Rebecca Pearson from Bristol University followed children born to more than 8,900 mothers who had struggled with postnatal or antenatal depression.

The researchers found that the children had 1.3 times the risk of suffering from depression by the time they turned 18 years of age.

“Depression in pregnancy should be taken seriously and treated in pregnancy. It looks like there is a long-term risk to the child, although it is small”, Dr Pearson told the BBC, adding that their findings needed further study.



Source-Medindia


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