A new study reinforces the importance of seeking and maintaining medical treatment for moms with postpartum depression. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has found that children of mothers who have received successful treatment via medication for major depression or anxiety are less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, disruptive and depressive disorders themselves, compared to children of women who remain untreated. The study states its conclusion as follows:
Remission of maternal depression has a positiveeffect on both mothers and their children, whereas mothers whoremain depressed may increase the rates of their children’sdisorders. These findings support the importance of vigoroustreatment for depressed mothers in primary care or psychiatricclinics and suggest the utility of evaluating the children,especially children whose mothers continue to be depressed.
