Postnatal Depression News and Research

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Postpartum depression (Postnatal depression) is a type of depressive illness that some women experience after child birth. This form of depression usually occurs around 4 to 6 weeks after delivery but sometimes does not manifest until months after the baby is born. The condition can occur whether a woman gives birth naturally or by way of a caesarean section.

Music therapy reduces stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy

Music therapy can reduce psychological stress among pregnant women, according to research just published in a special complementary and alternative therapy medicine issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical Nursing.

6 Oct 2008

Health plans' quality of care improved in some areas in 2007, NCQA report says

Health plans' quality of care improved in 2007 -- the ninth consecutive year of continued improvements -- according to a study released Thursday by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

5 Oct 2008

Natural birth better for bonding baby and mother

American researchers are suggesting that natural birth may make mothers more responsive to their babies than those who choose to have a Caesarean.

4 Sep 2008

Natural childbirth makes mothers more responsive to own baby-cry

A new study has found that mothers who delivered vaginally compared to caesarean section delivery (CSD) were significantly more responsive to the cry of their own baby, identified through MRI brain scans two to four weeks after delivery.

2 Sep 2008

Mom's depression, baby's sleep linked?

If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future.

2 Sep 2008

Mechanism for postpartum depression found in the brains of mice

Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism in the brains of mice that could explain why some human mothers become depressed following childbirth. The discovery could lead to improved treatment for postpartum depression.

31 Jul 2008

Possible brain basis for parental instinct

Why do we almost instinctively treat babies as special, protecting them and enabling them to survive? Darwin originally pointed out that there is something about infants which prompts adults to respond to and care for them which allows our species to survive.

28 Feb 2008

Poor women more likely to suffer from postpartum depression

Poor women in Iowa are much more likely to suffer from postpartum depression than their wealthier counterparts, a new University of Iowa study shows.

20 Feb 2008

Giving birth to a boy can lead to higher levels of severe post-natal depression

Giving birth to a boy can lead to higher levels of severe post-natal depression (PND) and reduced quality of life than having a girl, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

14 Feb 2008

Male and female doctors have divergent views on women and depression

Women and men doctors have some divergent views about women and depression, according to a recent survey conducted by the Society for Women's Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.

17 Jan 2008

Relationship of female sex hormones to mood states and disorders merits better research

Countless movies and TV shows make light of women's so-called “moodiness”, often jokingly attributing it to their menstrual cycle or, conversely, to menopause.

13 Dec 2007

Glasses designed to block blue light improve sleep and ADHD symptoms

Scientists at John Carroll University, working in its Lighting Innovations Institute, have developed an affordable accessory that appears to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Their discovery also has also been shown to improve sleep patterns among people who have difficulty falling asleep.

13 Nov 2007

Psychosocial and psychological interventions for treating postpartum depression

For the estimated 13 percent of new mothers who experience postpartum depression, counseling and peer support groups appear to offer symptom relief without medication, a new review of research suggests.

17 Oct 2007

Experts urge women to eat plenty of fish while pregnant

Experts in the United States are contradicting government recommendations and warnings regarding fish and other seafood in the diets of pregnant and breast-feeding women.

7 Oct 2007

How new mothers cradle baby a clue to their mental state

According to new research, how a mother cradles her baby, an action not linked to left or right handedness, could be a sign of stress, which may lead to postnatal depression.

29 Aug 2007

New study on breast feeding and post natal depression

The commonly held belief that mothers suffering from post natal depression will not be able to breastfeed has been challenged by research from the University of Leicester, which also suggests that the manner in which current breastfeeding promotion strategies are communicated may contribute to feelings of guilt and fears of inadequacy by mothers suffering from depression.

20 Jul 2007

New mothers often not asked about depression

The majority of doctors in North Carolina do not probe for signs of postpartum depression in new mothers, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

1 Jun 2007

Immigrant mothers face hurdles in accessing postpartum assistance in Canada

While Canadian-born and immigrant women have equal access to health care following childbirth, immigrant women are more likely to experience postpartum depression and financial strain, according to a new study published in Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing.

2 Jan 2007

Massage may help tots sleep better

New research by a team at the University of Warwick says that massage may help infants aged under six months sleep better, cry less and be less stressed.

8 Nov 2006

New Jersey law for postpartum depression screening

A bill (S 213) signed into law in April by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) that requires health care providers to screen women who recently have given birth for postpartum depression and teach women and their families about the condition took effect Tuesday, the Bergen Record reports.

16 Oct 2006