The Influence of Postpartum Depression on Infant Behavior

Abstract

Postpartum depression can reach up to 15% of pregnant women in developed countries, 25% in underdeveloped countries and up to 40% throughout the perinatal period. Depressive mothers interact less with their children, they show less love and affection, and this may have an impact on the lives of these infants in the future. Babies who lived in this context had problems with language acquisition, cognitive impairment, delay in achieving developmental milestones, attachment insecure, low self-esteem. It is essential that the diagnosis of depression be made as early as possible so that therapeutic and preventive measures are implemented in a timely manner in order to provide healthy child growth and ensure the good mental health of these mothers.Keywords: Postpartum depression; childish behaviour; mother-child relationship; diagnosis; pharmacological treatment; combination therapy;

Neglecting Maternal Depression Compromises Child Health and Development Outcomes, and Violates Children’s Rights in South Africa

“…Depressive mothers interact less with their children, show less love and affection and often miss symptoms that are contrary to the child’s development and wellbeing, thus impacting on the future development of the children. Children with compromised emotional attachment show attachment insecurity, delayed language acquisition, cognitive impairment, delay in achieving developmental milestones and low self-esteem [ 78 , 79 ]. Moreover, maternal depression and resultant emotional detachment is a risk factor for child abandonment [ 80 , 81 ], which increases the risk for poor outcomes exponentially.…”