It is common immediately following child birth for women to experience the "baby blues", a condition known as postpartum depression. Nearly 20 percent of all new mothers suffer from this condition. Emory University recently did a study, however, and learned that the babies as well as the moms were suffering from the same chemical imbalance.
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Researchers found that a large percentage of the babies of depressed mothers had the same high blood level of the hormone cortisol (an indicator of stress).
When a mother suffers from PPD many times her response to the baby is either to ignore the child, or overwhelm baby with attention. Either extreme can cause the same type of stress in baby that results in the high levels of cortisol. Researchers found that mothers who underwent treatment for the imbalance, were quickly returned to their normal blood level, while their children, who were left untreated, still maintained a higher level of stress-causing cortisol.
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If you are suffering from post-partum depression, seek the advice of your primary care physician. |
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