The study shows that infants exposed to maternal depression lasting two months or more seem to experience significantly lower weight gain in the first six months after birth.

“Our findings emphasize the importance of screening for depression and treating the disorder in new mothers,” says lead author Dr Victoria Hendrick of the University of California’s Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital in Los Angeles.

She says the findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, emphasize that Gene link to psychotic bipolar disorder women should not hesitate to seek treatment for postpartum depression, even if it involves the use of antidepressants.

It is estimated that between 12 and 15 per cent of new mothers experience depression in the first six months postpartum. However, it was unclear whether maternal depression itself or antidepressant use had an impact on infant weight gain.

Dr Hendrick’s team studied 78 breast-feeding mothers and their infants. All of the women had started taking antidepressant medications either during pregnancy or within four weeks of giving birth.

The researchers found that the average six-month weights of the infants exposed to antidepressant medication were virtually identical to the national norms calculated by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC).

However, the average weights of infants of mothers who suffered from major depression for more than two months were significantly less compared with infants of mothers with major depression lasting less than two months and with the CDC norms.

Importantly, this finding remained significant after taking account of antidepressant medication dosage and infant birth weight.

Dr Hendrick suggests that maternal depression may affect the feeding behavior of mothers.

“Studies have shown that maternal depression at seven weeks postpartum appears to predict a reduced preference for breast-feeding,” she says. “In addition, maternal variables that may underlie maternal depression, such as family conflict or financial stress, may influence infant weight gain.”

She adds that maternal depression may also influence “biological variables” in mother’s milk.

Reference: Hendrick et al, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2003;64:410-412

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