One of my assignments for my course was to find an article on factors contributing to child development...I choose an article on Post Partum Depression. I hope that this will help any moms out there that think they have something more then baby blues and help them to seek help. Now shame in getting help the shame is when you don't get help because you are fearful of what people will think.
Article regarding factors contributing to a child's development
http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/pages/PDF/OberlanderANGxp.pdf
I have chosen an article on Post-Partum Depression. Meta-analysis and systematic review both suggest that PPD has a significant effect on infants’ cognitive and social development. Studies have shown that in children less then 12 months of Mom’s with PPD are:
• More tense, less content
• Fewer positive facial expressions
• More negative expressions and protest behavior
• Drowsy, withdrawn, avoidant
• More crying-fussy and disruptive
• Reduced sociability to strangers and performance on learning tasks
• Disengaged in maternal -infant interactions and in toy play
• More sleep problems. (a)
I believe new mom’s are at risk for PPD and even more so for families at risk because of other social, economical and health factors.
Within the article there is found some key research questions I would like to ask in light of those questions…..
1. If you had a Mom on your case load that you thought might have PPD how would you explore the topic with Mom?
2. What resources do you know of in your community to help Mom with PPD?
3. Finally do you know some of the symptoms of PPD?
(a) (Reference from MOMS Mothers Offering Mentorship and Support) www.momsnb.ca (MOMS on Facebook as well)
Re: Article regarding factors contributing to a child's development
by Amanda Avery - Sunday, January 22, 2012, 05:23 PM
Hi Michelle thanks for the article it was an interesting read. Once a newborn comes home a lot of the focus is on the infant and the parents are forgotten. Watching the mom and noticing signs of depression are very important most often the person with the depression does not know how to label it, knows that it is there, or makes accesses for the symptoms to others and herself. The website building better mothers is a PPD website and is downloaded into a power point presentation. (just Google building better mothers) the author is Joanne MacDonald. The presentation discusses the factors, symptoms, what to look for as well as treatment. There is also a slide about mother and child development. This presentation comes from our local Children's/woman’s hospital (IWK Hospital) here in Halifax Nova Scotia. It is a must see if you are interested in this topic.
I thought about your first question quite a lot and the answer I came up with it not an easy one. I am not sure. I have known people with depression (not PPD) and its a very hard topic to speak about and one that takes a lot of time to recognize. People who have depression lie their way out of their symptoms for a long time before they do not have the energy to lie anymore. When they are told to seek help then they get defensive and once they seek help its still a long hard battle. I guess if I had someone that I thought had PPD I would ask them how things were going with the baby, if there was anything I could do, and just be there to listen because they will talk and slip up at some time and say something that will cue you to how they are truly feeling. Making sure the safety of the child and the mother were the top propriety. They over time I would start suggesting or asking if they had any doctor's visits and if they had talked about their feelings with their doctor, still letting them know that they had the support of me to confide in.
Just a thought: Mothers can be diagnosed with PPD is there a depression label out there for fathers, or would this just be labelled under clinical depression?
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Re: Article regarding factors contributing to a child's development
by chaya kulkarni - Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 03:22 PM
HI Michelle, Thank you for posting. This may seem obvious but I will ask anyway. You identify the behaviors of a baby who has a mom suffering from ppd. Can you explain why we see these behaviors in the baby? I would like to ensure all understand what leads to these behaviors.
Chaya
Re: Article regarding factors contributing to a child's development
by Michelle Carmichael - Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 07:29 AM
Thanks Chaya I sure can explain why we see these behaviors in the baby….
Often times when Moms have PPD they will also have problems with caring for their baby. So Mom sometimes meets needs & sometimes Mom doesn’t meet needs making for an unsure baby! Baby is likely displaying signs of disorganized attachment along with failure to thrive because of Mom’s lack of consistency with meeting needs. Baby goes into survival mode if you will as well to attempt to cope with the stressors in their brand new little life! If this isn’t caught quickly it has the potential to end badly for both baby and Mom.
Re: Article regarding factors contributing to a child's development
by Leanne Gelinas - Thursday, January 26, 2012, 10:28 PM
Michelle Thanks for sharing the article on Post-Partum Depression and Infant Crying Behavior.
I liked the comment that excessive infant crying in the presence of port-partum depression is a "door" through which we can enter and intervene to improve developmental outcomes and mental health.
Some of the signs and symptoms of PPD that I see in my field of work are a new mom who seems disinterested in her newborn. If a mother fails to respond to their infant during a painful/uncomfortable procedure I see this as a "red flag". I usually become concerned if the mother fails to gaze at her infant during feeds, and is not responsive to her infant's cry. Excessive crying on the mothers' part is also a symptom of PPD, but is sometimes just a case of simple "baby blues".
In my community we have a PPD early intervention, as well as home-based psycho therapeutic programs available at St. Clair Child and Youth. I always mention it during my discharge teaching with families, but if I have already seen "red flags" I will be sure to give them a brochure, or put in a referral for screening in the community. For Mom's who have a newborn with a lengthy hospital stay I would put a call in to the hospital social worker to assist the family as well.
Leanne Gelinas
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