Mothers who suffer from ‘baby blues’ while pregnant are four times as likely to have children who become violent teenagers, a new study shows. The link remained even if the mothers did not suffer depression after their children were born. Research has previously suggested that postnatal depression can affect a child’s subsequent behaviour. But experts from Cardiff and Bristol universities and King’s College London believe that theirs is one of the first studies to look at the effects of suffering depression before a child’s birth. Many women are depressed during their pregnancy and research by Tommy’s, the baby charity, suggests that it may even be more common before the birth of a child than after.
Tags: Depression