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How stress affects offspring
We’ve heard before that babies feel the effects of a mom’s high anxiety or depression. But so far, no one has been able to explain how an expecting mom’s emotional state could carry forward to her baby.
But this month in the journal Cell, researchers report a piece of the puzzle — not only that, they suggests the effects of stress are not just passed down from mom to child, but could actually carry forward through another generation as well.
Here’s how the scientists say that stress may reach down through the generations: Continue reading »
Mother’s Day is ideally a time for the whole world to bow at our maternal feet and finally acknowledge the myriad ways in which we improve their lives immeasurably. But the reality of mothers’ day does not always live up to ones hopes. Those lovely cards and hugs are followed by the same tantrums and power struggles and crankiness that make up our inherently imperfect lives with children.
Motherhood is awesome, but it’s tough work. I love, love, love being a mother, but when my kids were babies it was a lot harder for me to say that wholeheartedly. I had a tough transition. I was anxious and stressed, and yes,depressed.I was generally just having a lot less fun than I expected.My experience made me want to reinforce to moms that motherhood can be a mixed bag, and that acknowledging the bad parts doesn’t mean you’re not grateful for all the gifts that come along with it.
Which is why I was so happy to have this incredible opportunity to tell my story.
The future of autism screening
Today in Pediatrics, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health say they have developed a successful screening tool for pediatricians that will allow them to assess for signs of autism spectrum disorders at 12 months.
The screening tool is done at a child’s one-year well visit, takes five minutes, and asks parents questions about their child’s eye contact, babbling, words, gestures and pointing, object recognition, smiling and other aspects of social-emotional development.
10,479 one-year-olds in San Diego from 137 pediatricians’ offices participated in the pilot study. The researchers say that as a result of the screening tool, many of the delayed kids were started with therapy as early as 19 months. The average age for formal autism diagnosis in the US, according to the CDC, is five years old.
This is potentially great news for catching signs of autism early, when kids are the most receptive and influenced by therapies.
But here’s why I find myself getting frustrated reading about this large, exciting autism study: Continue reading »
Depression in new dads is real, common and treatable. What are the signs?
New dads have been depressed for years. But not until last year did fathers and post-partum depression get any attention. A meta-analysis of studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that one in 10 dads experienced some sadness after the birth of their child.
A look at 28,000 fathers found that around 14 percent of new fathers in the U.S. experienced some form of depression right after birth. That number jumps to 25 percent with the kid reached 3 to 6 months old.
As with Postpartum Depression in women, Paternal Postnatal Depression isn’t a matter of bucking up and embracing life. It can have serious consequences on the man, his family and especially, his child. Continue reading »
Did pre-baby blues darken your pregnancy?
For some women, a case of the baby blues can set in even before they give birth. Anxiety and depression during pregnancy aren’t just unpleasant: they can be dangerous to a mom-to-be and her unborn baby. Mood problems can contribute to premature birth, low birth weight, weight loss for the mom and substance abuse issues.
It’s not just hormones or brain chemistry that get us down during pregnancy. It’s also the support, or lack of support, we get from our partners.
A new study finds that women with strong relationships are better able to weather ordinary stressors and less likely to report feeling depressed or anxious during pregnancy.
Preventing bad birth experiences is about understanding why they happen
Writing for Double X, Henci Goer lists several recent cases of laboring women being mistreated, threatened and/or worse by hospital caretakers. Goer, a nurse, medical writer and author of The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Better Birth, asks why it appears to be OK to strip women of their rights once they’re pregnant. She argues not much has changed since 1959, when the Ladies Home Journal published “Cruelty in the Maternity Ward,” where women talked of the inhumane treatment they suffered in the labor and delivery rooms.
The cases she refers to in her post, many of them covered here at Strollerderby, are, without question, extremes. Is every woman abused by her doctor? Of course not. Are the majority of kids whose moms refuse to sign C-section consent forms whisked off to foster care? No, not even close.
And yet, it’s not hard to find stories of women who felt icky at best, or harmed by their caretakers at worst, during the birth of their kids.
As if being pregnant and depressed wasn’t hard enough. Now researchers say your depression could make your life miserable again in say thirteen years.
A new study out of Cardiff and Bristol universities and King’s College London has posited a link between moms who are depressed during their pregnancy and violent teenage offspring. Continue reading »
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Monica Bielanko 
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