Marie Vanderweide-Murray / Getty Images
+Parenting | April 17, 2012

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby: Why Depressed Moms Don’t Follow that Advice

By Bonnie Rochman

Researchers at Penn State found that depressed and worried moms were far more likely than other moms to rouse their babies unnecessarily in the middle of the night. Are they seeking emotional comfort?

Family Matters
+Parenting | March 22, 2012

For Moms with Postpartum Depression, the Nation’s First Inpatient Unit

By Bonnie Rochman
Studio Boo... Images by Amber Northfield / Flickr / Getty Images

For moms battling depression, a first-of-its-kind psychiatric unit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers intensive, inpatient care.

Family Matters
+Parenting | August 5, 2011

Postpartum Depression and Difficulty Breast-Feeding May Go Hand in Hand

By Bonnie Rochman
Getty Images

Breast-feeding may be natural but that doesn’t mean it comes easily to every new mom. A new study in the August edition of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology finds that women who struggle to breast-feed in the first two weeks after giving birth are more prone to postpartum depression.

+Parenting | March 14, 2011

Dads’ Dark Side: New Fathers with Depression Spank Their Babies More

By Hans Villarica
Christian Weigel/Corbis

In recent history, the faces of postpartum depression — Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marie Osmond — have been largely female. But new research shows that new dads experience baby blues too: 7% of new fathers reported recent major depression, and many of them said they had spanked their 1-year-old babies.

Family Matters
+Parenting | December 3, 2010

In Zahra Baker’s Case, Postpartum Depression Exacted a Heavy Toll

By Bonnie Rochman
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Maybe it’s because my son has those same disarming freckles sprinkled across his nose, but I can’t stop thinking about Australian-born Zahra Baker. Mine is not a singular preoccupation; judging by the 1.5 million results that Google returned on a search of the 10-year-old’s name, I have plenty of company in trying to figure out [...]

Family Matters
+Depression | November 26, 2010

Pediatricians Should Start Screening for Postpartum Depression

By Bonnie Rochman
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We’ve all heard about the importance of mother-baby bonding. When that doesn’t happen because a mother is battling postpartum depression, it’s not only mom who suffers; baby does too.

+Nutrition | October 20, 2010

Study: Fish Oil Supplements May Not Benefit Pregnant Moms or Babies

By Alice Park
TS Photography

Pregnant women have a lot to worry about when it comes to keeping their bodies and their developing babies healthy. Now researchers in Australia report that fish-oil supplements, a popular nutritional boost that many moms-to-be thought helped boost their mood and their little ones’ brain development, doesn’t do much for either.

+Pregnancy | September 15, 2010

Diagnosing Postpartum Depression with a Brain Scan

By Alice Park
© Ocean/Corbis

Postpartum depression strikes about 15% of mothers in the first months after delivery, but it’s not clear yet which women are at risk. Now researchers at University of Pittsburgh report on a brain-imaging test that may identify those new moms who are vulnerable to the disorder.

+Public Health | September 7, 2010

The Daily Dose: Superbug Hits Japan, Magic Mushrooms and Fancy Sneaker Smackdown

By Meredith Melnick

Custom Running Shoes Don’t Lower Injury Risk: Sporting goods stores that evaluate foot shape to help customers buy running shoes may have it wrong. A study of Marine recruits who had running shoes customized to their arch heights showed that nice shoes didn’t lower the instance of injury during basic training.

+Depression | April 2, 2010

Can physical therapy help new moms avoid baby blues?

By Alice Park

Physical therapy may offer some new mothers protection against postpartum depression, a small study from researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Physiotherapy Department suggests. The study included 161 women who had recently given birth and had no previous history of depression. Roughly half of participants were assigned to an experimental group that participated in an [...]