Review articleEffect of maternal postpartum depression on offspring's growth
Introduction
Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a public health issue with a prevalence that varies from 3% to 19% (Gavin et al., 2005, Gelaye et al., 2016) depending on country, region and evaluation criteria. Depression is one of the most common and debilitating postpartum complications (Gaynes et al., 2005) and its symptoms include either depressed mood, loss of appetite, insomnia; or weight gain and excessive sleeping (Robinson and Stewart, 2001).
Untreated maternal depression can cause an impact on parenting abilities such as increased hostility, negative interactions, less responsiveness and communication resulting in an impaired competence as a caregiver (Lovejoy et al., 2000, Rahman et al., 2002). PPD can also interfere with childcare activities like duration of breastfeeding, sleeping routine, health care, early introduction of solid food and physical activity stimulation (Edwardson and Gorely, 2010, Stewart, 2007, Surkan et al., 2016) that can affect child growth.
Previous research has linked maternal depression to child offspring's growth outcomes. Children of depressed mothers have been related to higher risks of stunting and underweight in developing countries (Surkan et al., 2011); however, chronic exposure to maternal depression has also been associated with a higher risk of overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence (Lampard et al., 2014).
A systematic review of the literature was conducted with the aim of evaluating the available evidence on the effect of maternal postpartum depression on offspring's growth (weight and height) outcomes.
Section snippets
Methods
Cohort and case-control studies that analyzed the effect of exposure to maternal postnatal depression on offspring's growth outcomes from birth to 18 years of age were screened and reviewed. The studies were identified on an online search of the PubMed, LILACs, Web of Science, Science Direct and PsyInfo databases. The aim was to perform a wide search using keywords related only to the exposure, maternal postnatal depression, to try to minimize the loss of any study of interest. The search was
Results
A total of 9943 articles were identified in all databases, being 9608 the available number after duplicates exclusion. Following the title and abstract assessment, 24 articles were selected for full-text analysis (Fig. 1). Exclusion criteria included cross-sectional design (n = 1), weight variation (n = 3) and abdominal circumference as the outcome of interest (n = 1), and not directly evaluating the aimed association (1). Two studies screened from the full-texts reference section were also
Discussion
The results from this review suggest that the effect of maternal depression on offspring's growth outcomes is centered on the child's first year of life growth. Different sample sizes, countries socioeconomic status and outcomes definitions seem not to have affected the results on under and overweight, wasting or stunting.
Conclusion
Maternal depression showed an effect on offspring's weight and height impaired growth during the first year of the child's life and continued linear growth deficit until the age of five. Effects on overweight and obesity were inconsistent. Studies using maternal depression symptoms screening tools provided similar results to gold standard mental-health professional's diagnosis, demonstrating that these instruments can be a suitable alternative when planning epidemiological studies.
Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Contributors
The elaboration of the manuscript authors Simone Farías-Antúnez and Mariana Xavier managed the literature searches and data selection and assessment. Authors Simone Farías-Antúnez and Iná Santos wrote and reviewed the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
References (47)
- et al.
Impact of postnatal depression on infants' growth in Nigeria
J. Affect. Disord.
(2008) - et al.
Physical activity during the early years: a systematic review of correlates and determinants
Am. J. Prev. Med.
(2016) - et al.
Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences
Lancet (Lond., Engl.)
(2008) - et al.
Parental influences on different types and intensities of physical activity in youth: a systematic review
Psychol. Sport Exerc.
(2010) - et al.
Maternal perinatal depression is not independently associated with child body mass index in the Generation R Study: methods and missing data matter
J. Clin. Epidemiol.
(2012) Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: a review
Infant Behav. Dev.
(2010)- et al.
Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries
Lancet Psychiatry
(2016) - et al.
Maternal depression and childhood obesity: a systematic review
Prev. Med.
(2014) - et al.
Maternal depression and parenting behavior: a meta-analytic review
Clin. Psychol. Rev.
(2000) - et al.
The association between ante- and postnatal depressive symptoms and obesity in both mother and child: a systematic review of the literature
Women'S. Health Issue.: Off. Publ. Jacobs Inst. Women'S. Health
(2012)
Impact of maternal depressive symptoms and infant temperament on early infant growth and motor development: results from a population based study in Bangladesh
J. Affect. Disord.
Long-lasting maternal depression and child growth at 4 years of age: a cohort study
J. Pediatr.
Effects of perinatal mental disorders on the fetus and child
Lancet
Maternal depressive symptoms and attained size among children in the first 2 years of life
Acad. Pediatr.
Preventing infant and child morbidity and mortality due to maternal depression
Best. Pract. Res. Clin. Obstet. Gynaecol.
Maternal postpartum distress and childhood overweight
PloS One
Prevalence of infant television viewing and maternal depression symptoms
J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr.: JDBP
Maternal depression and low maternal intelligence as risk factors for malnutrition in children: a community based case-control study from South India
Arch. Dis. Child.
Maternal depression and childhood overweight in the CHAMACOS study of Mexican-American children
Matern. Child Health J.
Maternal postnatal depression and children's growth and behaviour during the early years of life: exploring the interaction between physical and mental health
Arch. Dis. Child.
Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
Br. J. Psychiatry
Maternal depression and child BMI: longitudinal findings from a US sample
Pediatr. Obes.
Cited by (90)
Effects of ketamine and esketamine on preventing postpartum depression after cesarean delivery: A meta-analysis
2024, Journal of Affective DisordersMaternal prenatal social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic predicts infant birth weight
2023, Early Human DevelopmentCortical and subcortical morphological alterations in postpartum depression
2023, Behavioural Brain ResearchSex-differences in the effects of indoor air pollutants and household environment on preschool child cognitive development
2023, Science of the Total EnvironmentThe influence of parental mental health on child health & development
2023, Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health, First Edition