Risk factors for postnatal depression

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the U.S. have been looking at the risk factors for postnatal depression using a nationally-representative sample of children born in 2001. The study found that 19% of mothers who had had multiple births had moderate-severe depression symptoms nine months after the birth compared to 16% of mothers who had had single births. Mothers with a history of hospitalization due to mental-health problems or a history of alcohol or drug abuse were at increased risk as were black women. Mothers who were currently married, Hispanic or who were better off were less likely to suffer from postnatal depression. Only 27% of the women who had experienced depressive symptoms had talked to a mental health specialist or a health-care provider.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330091559.htm