It is during the first year of a baby’s life that parents are mostly at risk of depression, reveals a new UK study. As many as 40% moms and 21% dads experienced episodes of depression by the time that their child turned 12 years, but the likelihood of this depression was most pronounced during the 12 months of a baby’s life.
According to experts, the findings of the research published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine are not surprising.
The arrival of a baby marks very significant changes in the lives of the parents; getting less or poorer quality sleep, increased demands on their time and resources, as well as the pressure that all of this can place on the basic man-woman relationship.
The parents who were seen to be the most at risk of developing postpartum depression are those who became parents at a younger age. Also lower income group parents were more prone to depression, as were those who had a past history of depression.
Statistics showed that the chances of depression were highest during the first year of the newborn baby’s life and though women are seen to be more at risk, men were also seen to be at significant risk.
