Women who have breastfeeding difficulties in the first two weeks after giving birth are more likely to suffer postpartum depression two months later compared to women without such difficulties. For that reason, women with breastfeeding difficulties should be screened for depressive symptoms, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...

Brain imaging studies have repeatedly found that people with depression have smaller hippocampal volumes than healthy individuals. The hippocampus is a brain region involved in learning and memory, spatial navigation, and the evaluation of complex life situations or "contexts". However, because in prior studies hippocampal volume was only measured in people once they became depressed, it has been unclear wh ...

Patients who use anti-depressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all, concludes a McMaster researcher. In a paper that is likely to ignite new controversy in the hotly debated field of depression and medication, evolutionary psychologist Paul Andrews concludes that patients who have used anti-depressant medications can be nearly twice as susce ...

Women who are clinically depressed at the time they enter drug court have a substantially higher risk of using crack cocaine within four months, according to a new study. Because current but not past depression was associated with a higher risk of use, the study published in the journal Addiction suggests that addressing depression could reduce the number of women who fail to beat crack addiction in drug co ...

In a recent issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a group of German investigators headed by Eva Brakemeier has performed a pilot study to test a new approach for chronic depression. This study demonstrates that the inpatient cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP) program can be considered as a promising and feasible treatment option that produces a good outcome for chronically dep ...

A new study published this week provides evidence that the way doctors currently think of postpartum depression may be incorrect. The research was published this week in the scholarly journal, Archives of Women's Mental Health - a premiere, peer reviewed, scientific journal dedicated to understanding mood and anxiety disorders specific to women. ...

Anxiety, stress, and depression during pregnancy may lead to a greater risk of asthma for your child. Study results are published in the July issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). ...

Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests. While other studies have shown the damaging effects of polluted air on the heart and lungs, this is one of the first long-term studies to show the negative impact on the brain, said Laura Fonken, lead author of the study and a doctoral stu ...

Pregnant women who screen positive for depression are unlikely to receive consistent treatment, researchers say. That may translate to women spending more time in the hospital before babies are even born. The Obstetric Clinics and Resources Study, published in General Hospital Psychiatry, tracked 20 health care providers in six Michigan clinics and revealed a lack of uniformity in addressing perinatal depre ...

Women with urinary incontinence after giving birth are almost twice as likely to develop postpartum depression as those without incontinence, according to a new study led by Wendy Sword, a professor in McMaster University’s School of Nursing. The results appear online in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. ...