Poor Growth in Kids Linked to Postnatal Depression

Mothers of children who are not gaining weight appropriately are nearly twice as likely to have postnatal depression as mothers of children who are gaining weight as expected, according to a new study.

Dr. Louise Margaret O’Brien, of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, in Kentucky, and colleagues identified children from community child health surveillance records who were younger than 2 years and were below normal growth levels. Mothers of 196 children underwent tests for depression and anxiety. Records of the weights of 567 normal-weight children were obtained, and the mothers of these children also completed the same questionnaires. Clinical interviews showed that 21% and 11% of mothers of low-weight and normal weight children, respectively, fulfilled criteria for a depressive episode, according to the report in the journal Pediatrics. “The increased risk of postnatal depression was observed even after we had taken into account other factors that could influence the results, such as birth weight, gender, maternal and child ages, number of other children in the family, and socioeconomic status,” O’Brien said in an interview with Reuters Health. The investigators note that management of maternal depression or of faltering weight in infants is usually done by focusing on either the mother (for depression) or the child (for poor weight gain). “We suggest that future management should be considered within the context of the mother-baby pair such that the mother of a baby with poor weight gain should be screened for postnatal depression, and conversely, the baby of a depressed mother should have his/her weight gain checked,” O’Brien said. “The treatment of a depressed mother does not always include an assessment of her interactions with her baby, yet this is vital to their well-being since maternal depression is already known to have a negative impact on infant emotional and cognitive development,” O’Brien added. (Source: Pediatrics: Reuters Health News: Michelle Rizzo: May 2004.)