As neuroscience has advanced, it is no surprise that maternal mental health plays a role on an infant’s physical development and overall wellbeing. That being said, when we think maternal mental health, we are often reminded of postpartum depression and anxiety. However, what are the benefits to taking care of maternal mental health during pregnancy and during the first few years of a child’s life?
According to Phua (2020), women that take care of their mental health during their pregnancies are more likely to have babies with higher birth weights. By incorporating stress management tools from counseling sessions there was a direct correlation with a lower chance of having a premature baby (Phua, 2020). Additionally, Phua’s study also found that women that had positive mental health during their pregnancies were more likely to have children that had higher levels of empathy, imitative play, higher cognitive functioning, and better communication skills. Conversely, women that did not get mental health help and suffered from untreated depression and anxiety during their pregnancies were more likely to have children with higher levels of adolescent depression and obesity (Phua, 2020).
For the mothers that do have premature infants, there can also be mental health implications such as self-blame, depression, anxiety, and overall impaired mental health (Porat-Zyman et al., 2019). Porat-Zyman’s study reveals that a premature infant is likely to have Posttraumatic Growth (PG) problems for up to four years after birth (Porat-Zyman et al., 2019). However, the effects of PG are reduced significantly if the mother’s mental health is higher at the time of premature birth and maintained at a higher level in the years following a premature birth (Porat-Zyman et al., 2019). In other words, a mother’s mental health is important for a child’s physical and mental health and the better a mother’s mental health the healthier the baby will be even in the case of a premature delivery.
Maternal mental health is not to be taken lightly. If mothers get mental health support during pregnancy and for the first few years of their baby’s life, they are more likely to have happier lives and healthier babies. #MMHWeek2021 and #MakingOverMotherhood #MMHWeek2021
Written by: Amanda Meffert, a graduate student obtaining her Masters in Clinical Mental Health from Northwestern University.. She provides services to children, adolescents, adults, and seniors to address a broad range of concerns, including adjustment difficulties, anxiety, depression and relationship challenges.