Autumn babies linked to post-partum depression...
Winter may be linked to postpartum depression
4/20/2011 - Women who give birth in the fall and winter more likely to experience depression, study showed
Winter may be linked to postpartum depression
4/20/2011 - Women who give birth in the fall and winter more likely to experience depression, study showed
Women who give birth in fall and winter may be more likely to get postpartum depression than those who deliver in the spring, suggests a new study from Sweden. Dr. Sara Sylven and her colleagues at Uppsala University say that changes in the amount of daylight during each season may affect chemical pathways in the brain related to depression.
They note that compared to most countries, Sweden has a much bigger difference in its amount of daylight in winter versus summer. For that reason, the effect of the seasons on rates of postpartum depression might be more obvious there. But at least in similar locales, Sylven said, women who give birth in the colder, darker months should be watched more closely for symptoms of depression.
The question of whether there is a link between when a mother gives birth and her risk of depression soon after "really has flip-flopped a lot," Jennifer Jewell, who studied the association at the University of Colorado in Denver as a graduate student, told Reuters Health. "There's a lot of mixed results out there, which I think indicates we need to know more about what we're trying to figure out," said Jewell, who was not involved in the current research.
Spurred on by that lack of concrete evidence, Sylven's team studied more than 2,000 women who gave birth at their institution over a 1-year period. At 5 days, 6 weeks, and 6 months after giving birth, the women completed questionnaires on symptoms of depression, as well as how much social support they had and other medical and lifestyle-related topics.
More Winter may be linked to postpartum depression - Health - Mental health - msnbc.com