Mothers who drink while pregnant could increase their child's risk of depression

https://news.yahoo.com/mothers-drink-while-pregnant-could-increase-childs-risk-151232435.html

AFP Relax News•April 23, 2020

New UK research has found that children born to mothers who drink while pregnant may have a higher risk of developing depression as teenagers.

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The findings, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, showed that children whose mothers had drank alcohol while 18 weeks pregnant may have up to a 17 percent higher risk of depression at age 18, compared to children whose mothers who did not drink alcohol.

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"Our study suggests that children whose mothers consumed alcohol at 18 weeks gestation have a higher risk of depression at age 18 compared to those who did not drink alcohol," commented lead author Dr. Kayleigh Easey. "What was really interesting here is that we also investigated paternal alcohol use during pregnancy and did not find a similar association. Many of the indirect factors that could explain the maternal effects are shared between mothers and partners (such as socio-demographic factors); despite this, we only found associations for mothers drinking."

"This study also illustrates the importance of considering partner behaviors as well as maternal behaviors -- both to help identify causal relationship, and because these may be important in their own right."

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