New Parent Woes

More evidence is showing that even though bringing a new baby into the home can be a joyful time, new parents are at particular risk of depression in the first year.

British researchers examined a large database and picked out more than 86,000 groups, each with a mother, a father, and a child. They then looked to see if the mother or father developed depression or started taking medication for it during the child’s first 12 years.

By the time the children turned 12, 39 percent of moms and 21 percent of dads had an episode of depression. For both moms and dads, the risk of depression was highest during the first year of the child’s life. Parents who had been depressed before were at a higher risk of developing depression, and so were parents who were younger when they had their child.

The researchers warn that depression in parents may have an impact on their kids’ development, and that new parents should discuss whether they may have depression with their health care providers.