In Brief: Positive Benefits of Father’s Involvement in Childcare
According to recent studies, the participation of fathers in childcare nearly doubled between 1965 and 2011. Despite this growing involvement of fathers in their children’s lives, pediatric visits continue to be focused on the mother-child relationship. Few early parent education programs focus on fathers. Paternal involvement positively affects infant neurodevelopment, but also decreases maternal stress and reduces maternal burden, which further contributes to healthy infant neurodevelopment and may lower risk for [...]
Exposure to Postpartum Depression Leads to Changes in Children’s Brain Development
Neuroimaging studies over the last few years have demonstrated that exposure to maternal depression can lead to changes in the architecture of the child’s brain, changes which may persist into adulthood and are associated with disruptions in cognitive development. Less clear is how the timing of exposure may modulate the effects of maternal depression on the developing brain. Many, but not all studies, have shown that postpartum depression, as well as [...]
Weekly Roundup for JUNE 21, 2019: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
This week’s roundup features a slight variation on our weekly roundup. Rather than having to plow through a long list of articles, they are now separated into categories. We are all inundated with information these days; hopefully this will help to streamline your approach to what is now a burgeoning subspecialty. Of note, the new treatment for postpartum depression -- brexanolone, to be marketed as Zulresso by Sage Therapeutics -- [...]
Lower Physical Strength in Midlife Women Associated with Higher Risk for Depression and Anxiety
Previous studies have shown that women with poor physical health are more likely to suffer from depression during the perimenopause and menopause. A new study demonstrates that in healthy women, there is also a correlation between physical health and mental well-being. This study focused on upper body and lower body strength in a group of healthy women aged 45 to 69 years seen for routine gynecologic care. Of the 1,159 women [...]
Smoking During Pregnancy and Risk for ADHD in Children
Previous studies have demonstrated that children born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are at increased risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In a recent review, Huang and colleagues looked at data from 15 cohort studies and 5 case-control studies which included a total of 50,044 children with ADHD and 2,998,059 controls. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of ADHD in the exposed offspring (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: [...]
Weekly Roundup for MAY 31, 2019: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
Several articles on the list look at the impact of maternal depression on children’s development. While previous studies have focused on the impact of postpartum depression, O’Leary and colleagues focus on the impact of depression occurring during pregnancy (antenatal depression). Even after controlling for depressive symptoms after delivery, depression during pregnancy was associated with worse motor development at 6 months. Depression during pregnancy was also associated with lower language scores at [...]