Hello everyone,
Will there be any negative impact on child when mother was in severe depression during pregnancy and after baby is born ( from birth up to 1 year breastfed)? What type of problems do arise to the child? How can it be prevented from affecting the child? My friend is undergoing the situation. She is not in a position to take any help from her parents, doctor. Please help!!!
Most likely the baby will be very fussy and difficult to manage. Probably very clingy and needing a lot of attention. The child may have behavioral problems later, especially if she can’t get a handle on her depression after the baby is born.
The biggest problem is that the mother may be even more depressed after the baby is born. Some mothers get so depressed that they cannot adequately care for their child; some don’t want anything to do with the baby.
She needs to get help ASAP. The health of her and her child are very important, more important than anything else.
Here’s an old discussion that might help http://forum.brillkids.com/prenatal-education/prenatal-stress-and-effects-on-baby/
Some links on this topic
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/156/5/789
http://www.parenthood.com/article-topics/depression_the_innocent_victims.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/02/us/personal-health-sorrow-s-web-depressed-mother-and-difficult-child.html?pagewanted=1
Meditation and yoga really helps the mom and the child. Let her read spiritual books and start meditating.Hope this will help.
I think she should hold the baby warmly and let it cry out the trauma of the depression… see http://awareparenting.com/ for more information.
if mommy is on depression situation it will directly have negative affects for both of them mostly for the child who needs proper care and special attention. give mommy the positive ideas and talk about the happiness of having baby, at least some one for mommy.
Difficult to say. Depends on case to case.
I don’t think it is important to get a list of possible problems. It is more important to deal with observed problems with caring.
The most important factor being how the mother acts with the child. The two main kinds ‘varieties’ I see are mother feeling depressed about the world and her inability to cope while wanting the best for the child and the mother feeling overwhelmed by motherhood and feeling unble to cope with baby. Obviously, the second type is more concerning from the perspective of the baby.
I think she should still try to see how professional help can be taken. A big part of depression is resisting assistance too, so as her friend, perhaps you can help her see it as more ‘possible’. Failing that, it is important to interact with people, particularly as many loving, supportive people as possible and to actively work to get in touch with the love and joy the child brings (which sometimes is not easy for a depressed person feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities).
The biggest danger of depression is feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and resistance to change. So, the condition is naturally one where the sufferer feels it is impossible to get aid from others - anyone and particularly strangers (going out) or very intimate people (too many questions). Not just doctor and parents. The person tends to get into a shell, which is not so good for the child, as the parent has very little motivation and even things like hygiene or illness may be ignored and there is no one else around to notice. As her friend, you may have to push into her space to keep nudging her out of the shell. Rope in others to call her, visit, assist with baby and house, etc. It is important to be accepting of her however she is - non-judgmental and offer assistance, but not force. For example, it will only drive her further into her shell if someone visits her to ‘draw her out’ and ends up commenting on the shabby state of her home. Much better this person does what he or she can without talking about it at all, or stating that they can understand that it can be difficult and to count on them, rather than ‘motivate’ her to take better care of herself or home. Things like that.
See if she will consent to visiting a doctor if she is accompanied by someone she feels comfortable with.
As in adults, depression in children can be caused by any combination of factors that relate to physical health, life events, family history, environment, genetic vulnerability, and biochemical disturbance.
Hi, I know this was posted a little while back but just wanted to share these free online resources for people including new mums with depression and anxiety problems. They are all based around cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) which has been shown to be just as effective as medication for depression. Ideally, if someone is severely affected they should see a doctor and / or a therapist for one to one treatment, but these are available for people who don’t have those options:
Living life to the full: http://www.livinglifetothefull.com/
The mood gym: http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome
The depression center: http://www.depressioncenter.net/
The panic center: http://www.paniccenter.net/
There are also lots of good self-help books available. I think one of the main reasons that a depressed mother has a major impact on a baby or child is that when depressed, people often get really withdrawn and shut down because they feel so low and tired. So they play less, smile less, talk and interact less with the child, which does affect the child’s development. The mother often can feel this but feels powerless to change and then feels really guilty so their depression gets worse as a “vicious circle”.
Some simple but genuinely effective advice is to start to behave “as if” they felt happier by starting to do more with their child, get out for short walks, go to the park etc, and preferably get out and see some friends for support. Although they may not feel immediately better, it often has a long term improvement in mood energy and confidence.
I had depression after my last baby. I just try to do better and better for my kids… I Always think on my kids and I think that helped me.