Treatment Online

Take Care of Mom's Depression
> 3/21/2006 1:43:48 PM

New research that will appear in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association shows that treating a mother's depression can help not only her health, but that of her children as well.

From the JAMA conclusions:

Remission of maternal depression has a positive effect on both mothers and their children, whereas mothers who remain depressed may increase the rates of their children's disorders. These findings support the importance of vigorous treatment for depressed mothers in primary care or psychiatric clinics and suggest the utility of evaluating the children, especially children whose mothers continue to be depressed.

This was a small study, but the implications of its results are very important. The connection between mother and child is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, possible. This is just further proof of the effects that a mother's health can have on that of her children.

As The AP notes, these results are akin to warnings on airline flights for parents to put on their own oxygen masks before helping their children. If you can't breathe, how can you help anyone else.

Even though further investigation is clearly necessary, these initial results point to important developments in the way that mothers and children are treated.

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