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Impact of Maternal Depression and Abuse on Children Studied

(HealthDay News)
by -- Jeff Muise
Updated: Oct 9th 2009

new article illustration

FRIDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- When mothers have mental health problems or are victims of family abuse, it negatively impacts the care and health of their children, according to a pair of studies in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Kerith J. Conron, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues studied 2,386 mothers investigated for child maltreatment who retained custody. At baseline, the mothers reported an average of 18.8 aggressive acts, eight physical assaults, and 3.4 neglectful acts in the past 12 months. The researchers found that depression onset was associated with an average 12-month increase of 2.3 aggressive acts. No association was observed between depression and physical assault or neglect, both of which researchers said may have been under-reported.

Kajsa Asling-Monemi, M.D., of Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues studied pregnant women in Bangladesh and their 3,132 live-born children for associations between physical, sexual, and emotional violence, and controlling behavior against the mother and the risk of infant diarrhea and respiratory infection. The infants of mothers who suffered various forms of violence had a 26 to 37 percent higher incidence of diarrhea. All types of family violence were independently associated with infant illness, with the highest incidence rates occurring among the daughters of mothers who were severely abused.

"The present findings add to increasing evidence of the magnitude of public health consequences of violence against women," the authors of the second study conclude.

Abstract - Conron
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Abstract - Asling-Monemi
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