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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Babies carried by mothers suffering from poor mental health face significant challenges, sometimes even before they are born.
British researchers who analyzed data on nearly 1.5 million births in Denmark found much higher rates of stillbirth and babies who died within the first month of life in these new moms.
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Overall, the research noted double the risk for stillbirth or newborn death for mothers admitted to a hospital for a serious psychiatric illness. Women with schizophrenia and affective disorders also had about double the risk, and affective disorders were linked to stillbirths associated with congenital abnormalities.
Women with other mental health problems such as mood-affective disorders and manic depression were more likely to have stillbirths or infants who died within a month. Stillbirth arising from complications during delivery were twice as high for women addicted to drug and alcohol than for healthy women.
The cause of death for these infants, however, varied, leading the researchers to conclude factors other than the mental illness itself may be coming into play.
Lifestyle, such as smoking and poor diet, and less antenatal care and poverty can also increase the chances of complication during childbirth, study author Dr. Kathryn Abel, from the University of Manchester, was quoted as saying. These findings suggest that further resources are needed to support these vulnerable women and their children.
SOURCE: University of Manchester press release, published online November 9, 2008
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