Study links poverty, mother’s depression
WASHINGTON — More than half of babies in poverty are being raised by mothers who show symptoms of mild to severe depression, potentially creating problems in parenting and in child development, according to a study.
In what was described as the first detailed portrait of its kind, researchers reported that one in nine infants in poverty had a mother with severe depression and that such mothers typically breastfed their children for shorter periods than other mothers who were poor.
“A mom who is too sad to get up in the morning won’t be able to take care of all of her child’s practical needs,’’ said researcher Olivia Golden, who coauthored the paper with two colleagues at Urban Institute in Washington. “If she is not able to take joy in her child, talk baby talk, play with the child — those are features of parenting that brain development research has told us contribute to babies’ and toddlers’ successful development.’’
The study said that even severe depression goes largely untreated among low-income mothers of infants, with just 30 percent speaking to a professional about a mental health problem during the year before the survey was conducted.
With at least 70 percent needing help, the problem is significant and “we should focus on closing that gap,’’ Golden said.
Depression was found in infants’ mothers of all incomes, with 41 percent reporting symptoms and 7 percent citing severe symptoms.
The research was based on nationally representative data from a federal education survey of 14,000 children born in 2001.
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