Mentor/s
Dr. Sandy Young and Dr. Brian Stiltner
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Has it ever crossed your mind how terrifying and scary it would be for a mother-to-be to feel like a failure and constantly experience sadness and guilt? What if she felt as if she could not take care of her own child after birth? And what would the effect of these depressive thoughts be on the infant?
Postpartum depression is an illness and type of depression that can affect mothers after childbirth. They can experience extreme feelings of sadness, anxiety, changes in sleep, appetite, and energy, along with bonding issues with the baby. As research suggests, one impact of postpartum depression is that there is a decline in their child’s language and cognitive development. It also suggests that language acquisition and development in the babies of mothers with postpartum depression poses a problem both in the child’s early years and as they grow. From a speech and language standpoint, it is imperative for speech language pathologists to identify infants who may be at risk and implement interventions as soon as possible to avoid long-term consequences.
College and Major available
College of Health Professions, Communication Disorders
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
The Effect of Postpartum Depression on an Infant’s Language and Cognitive Development
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Has it ever crossed your mind how terrifying and scary it would be for a mother-to-be to feel like a failure and constantly experience sadness and guilt? What if she felt as if she could not take care of her own child after birth? And what would the effect of these depressive thoughts be on the infant?
Postpartum depression is an illness and type of depression that can affect mothers after childbirth. They can experience extreme feelings of sadness, anxiety, changes in sleep, appetite, and energy, along with bonding issues with the baby. As research suggests, one impact of postpartum depression is that there is a decline in their child’s language and cognitive development. It also suggests that language acquisition and development in the babies of mothers with postpartum depression poses a problem both in the child’s early years and as they grow. From a speech and language standpoint, it is imperative for speech language pathologists to identify infants who may be at risk and implement interventions as soon as possible to avoid long-term consequences.
Students' Information
Alana Reilly, Communication Disorders Major with minors in the Honors Program and Psychology, May 2023