Cognitive Behavioral Development in Children Following Maternal Postpartum Depression: A Review Article

Hamid Mirhosseini1, Seyed Ahmad Moosavipoor2, Mohammad Ali Nazari3

  • 1Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, Assistant Professor, Research Center of Addiction and Behavioral Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

Electronic Physician
|January 28, 2016
PubMed

Mothers' constitute is a very important part of infants' social environment and mediate their experience with the surrounding world. Postpartum depression, which is considered one of the most common and important psychiatric disorders, affects 10-15% of mothers, its causes are different. By investigating various sources, some effects of this disorder have been observed on the cognitive development of children, particularly among boys, such as language, intelligence quotient (IQ), and behavioral problems. Thus, it is imperative to study the effects of postpartum depression on children's growth and development and to identify methods of reducing these effects. This review indicates that postpartum depression in mothers reduces children's cognitive performance. The adverse effects of postpartum depression on children's development seem to be mediated by the mother's interpersonal behavior and the infant gender. The review of previous studies shows that postpartum depression reduces children's cognitive performance by impairing maternal mental and behavioral care.

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