Study: Postpartum Depression Linked To Shorter Children

Sad moms make short kids?

A new study published online in the journal Pediatrics is saying that children whose mothers said they experienced mild depressive symptoms nine months after giving birth had a 40 percent higher chance of falling below the 10th percentile in height at age 4.

Huffington Post reports: 

6,550 kindergarten-age children and their mothers. At nine months postpartum, nearly one-quarter of the mothers said they had mild depressive symptoms, and another 17 percent said they had moderate to severe symptoms.

At age 4, children whose moms reported having had either mild or more serious postpartum depression had a 40 percent higher chance of being below the 10th percentile in height for their age compared to children whose moms reported no postpartum depression.

according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,11 and 18 percent of women say they have experienced regular postpartum depression.