Postnatal depression and infant growth and development in low income countries: a cohort study from Goa, India
2002/12/20 by V Patel, Vikram Patel · 27 citations
Medicine · #Body mass index #Breastfeeding Practices and Influences #Child development #Cognition #Cohort #Cohort study #Depression (economics) #Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale #Infant Development and Preterm Care #Internal medicine #Low birth weight #Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum #Medicine #Mood #Pediatrics #Pregnancy #Psychiatry #Underweight
paper · pdf · doi:10.1136/adc.88.1.34
openalex publication_date 2002/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a recognised cause of delayed cognitive development in infants in developed countries. Being underweight is common in South Asia. AIMS: To determine whether postnatal depression contributes to poor growth and development outcomes in Goa, India. METHODS: Cohort study for growth outcomes with nested case-control study for developmental outcomes. A total of 171 babies were weighed and measured at 6-8 weeks following birth. The following measures were used: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for maternal mood, and sociodemographic and infant health variables. Outcome measures were: weight (<5th centile), length (<5th centile), and Developmental Assessment Scale for Indian Infants scores at six months. RESULTS: Postnatal depression was a strong, and independent, predictor of low weight and length and was significantly associated with adverse mental development quotient scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the first time that postnatal depression, a potentially treatable disorder, is a cause of poor growth and development in South Asia.
Cited by
- Perinatal depression and infant and toddler neurodevelopment: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Perinatal common mental disorders and child survival in Ethiopia
- Maternal depression and infant growth: a review of recent evidence. [europepmc]
- Improving the outcomes of primary care attenders with common mental disorders in developing countries: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a collaborative stepped care intervention in Goa, India. [europepmc]
- Maternal common mental disorder and infant growth--a cross-sectional study from Malawi. [europepmc]
- Maternal postnatal depression and child growth: a European cohort study. [europepmc]
- Antenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms are differentially associated with early childhood weight and adiposity. [europepmc]
- The effect of maternal common mental disorders on infant undernutrition in Butajira, Ethiopia: the P-MaMiE study. [europepmc]
- Poverty and common mental disorders in low and middle income countries: A systematic review. [europepmc]
- Low birth weight in offspring of women with depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy: results from a population based study in Bangladesh. [europepmc]
- Maternal common mental disorders and infant development in Ethiopia: the P-MaMiE Birth Cohort. [europepmc]
- Effectiveness of an intervention led by lay health counsellors for depressive and anxiety disorders in primary care in Goa, India (MANAS): a cluster randomised controlled trial. [europepmc]
- Depressed mood in pregnancy: prevalence and correlates in two Cape Town peri-urban settlements. [europepmc]
- Prevalence and associated factors of depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy: a population based study in rural Bangladesh. [europepmc]
- Maternal depression and early childhood growth in developing countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. [europepmc]
- Effects of chronic social stress during lactation on maternal behavior and growth in rats. [europepmc]
- Male gender preference, female gender disadvantage as risk factors for psychological morbidity in Pakistani women of childbearing age - a life course perspective. [europepmc]
- Interventions for common perinatal mental disorders in women in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. [europepmc]
- Impact of postpartum anxiety and depression on child's mental development from two peri-urban communities of Karachi, Pakistan: a quasi-experimental study. [europepmc]
- The intergenerational effects of war on the health of children. [europepmc]
- Linkage to HIV care, postpartum depression, and HIV-related stigma in newly diagnosed pregnant women living with HIV in Kenya: a longitudinal observational study. [europepmc]
- Maladaptive coping mediates the influence of childhood trauma on depression and PTSD among pregnant women in South Africa. [europepmc]
- Maternal mental health, and child growth and development, in four low-income and middle-income countries. [europepmc]
- The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the peer-delivered Thinking Healthy Programme for perinatal depression in Pakistan and India: the SHARE study protocol for randomised controlled trials. [europepmc]
- Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries. [europepmc]
- Postpartum depression in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis. [europepmc]
- Chronic Stress in Children and Adolescents: A Review of Biomarkers for Use in Pediatric Research. [europepmc]
Related