Experts are now convinced that stress hormones in the womb play a role in determining the mental health of the child in later life
Teenagers could run a significantly higher risk of becoming depressed if their mothers suffered the condition while they were in the womb.
Researchers warn that the extra threat for 18-year-olds could be one-and-a-half times higher than for the children of those free of the illness.
Their study also reveals for the first time an important difference between antenatal depression, which occurs in pregnancy, and postnatal, affecting the mother after the child is born.
Experts are convinced that stress hormones in the womb are likely to play a key role. This is because there was no link between depression suffered by the father before birth and their child’s mental status as a teenager.
The research analysed parents and children from the ongoing UK Children of the 90s study.
Research leader Dr Rebecca Pearson said the findings identified a new risk to the unborn child from antenatal depression in the mother.
‘The extra risk is around one and half times more,’ she said. ‘Unlike postnatal depression, the mother cannot protect the child from the effects of untreated depression while the baby is still in the womb.
‘Stress hormones, which come from being depressed, are also experienced by the baby.
Happiness: Stress hormones in the womb are now believed to play a crucial role in the child's chances of suffering from depression in later life
‘The results clearly show a difference in risk depending on whether the mother’s depression was antenatal or postnatal.’
The study found 11 per cent of adolescents born to women suffering antenatal depression had the illness at the age of 18.
But the condition affected just 7 per cent of the offspring of women free of depression while expecting, it was reported in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
PRESSURE TO BE PERFECT
New mothers feel pressure to get everything right, which raises their risk of depression.
A poll of 1,500 mothers who had the illness in pregnancy or after birth said worries include money, emotional support and getting practical help with childcare.
As a result of their illness, two in five mothers did not want to leave the house, 22 per cent had suicidal thoughts and 30 per cent said symptoms lasted more than 18 months.
The poll, from organisations including Netmums, the baby charity Tommy’s and the Royal College of Midwives, found three-quarters did not feel they could tell a health worker about their depression and 40 per cent were not treated for it.
Sally Russell, co-founder of Netmums, said: ‘It’s clear to see that as society changes with longer working hours, fewer families living close together and the relentless media pressure for new mums to look, act and feel perfect, that there is a real danger incidences of this illness could be on the increase.’
There was a higher risk for children born to those with postnatal depression if they had a poor level of schooling compared to more educated mothers.
Dr Pearson, of the University of Bristol, said previous research stressed harm to the baby from drugs to treat the mother, but added that these findings may give women a better idea of the benefits of treating depression in pregnancy.
‘There are treatments other than drugs, but this study suggests untreated depression is bad too, not just for the mum but the baby,’ she added.
Spanish expert Professor Celso Arango said it was significant the mental status of the father before birth had no effect on the child’s future risk of depression.
This suggests that high levels of stress hormones affect development in the womb, he said.
He said: ‘Women with depression would ideally be treated before getting pregnant, but if they are already pregnant when diagnosed with depression it is even more important that they are treated as it will impact on the mother and child.’
Professor Arango said the latest findings suggest the gains of using fluoxetine (or Prozac) outweigh any risks. He added: ‘Researchers are only just beginning to realise that it is not psychiatrists, psychologists or neuroscientists that are having the biggest impact on preventing mental health issues – it is gynaecologists.’
Professor Carmine Pariante, of King’s College London, said helping pregnant women who are depressed will ‘not only alleviate their suffering but also the suffering of the next generation’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2451577/How-mothers-depression-pregnancy-hits-children-reach-teens.html#ixzz2hLAMJemB
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