Treating moms with postpartum depression helps their babies’ brains

For the study 40 infants of women diagnosed with postpartum depression were matched with 40 infants of non-depressed mothers on infant age, gender and socioeconomic status. The mothers with postpartum depression received nine weeks of group CBT. The infants were all tested before the treatment and nine weeks later, including a questionnaire on the infant behaviour completed by the mother and her partner.
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Tough childhood damages life prospects

An adverse upbringing often impairs people's circumstances and health in their adult years, especially for couples who have both had similar experiences. This is shown by a new study in which 818 mothers and their partners filled in a questionnaire one year after having a child together.
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Mental health conditions alarmingly high among children with autism, study finds

Nearly 78 per cent of children with autism have at least one mental health condition and nearly half have more than that, according to a new study. Mental health conditions were present in 44.8 per cent of pre-school age children with autism -- a group among which prevalence had not previously been established using a large, population-based sample. Only 14.1 per cent of children without autism (ages 3-17) had mental health conditions.
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Childhood neglect leaves generational imprint

Early life experiences can have an outsized effect on brain development and neurobiological health. New research is showing that those effects can be passed down to subsequent generations, reporting that the infant children of mothers who had experienced childhood emotional neglect displayed altered brain circuitry involved in fear responses and anxiety.
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More than half of COVID-19 health care workers at risk for mental health problems

A new study suggests more than half of doctors, nurses, and emergency responders involved in COVID-19 care could be at risk for one or more mental health problems, including acute traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, and insomnia. The researchers found that the risk of these mental health conditions was comparable to rates observed during natural disasters, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
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