Stress in pregnancy linked to depression in children

WOMEN whose mothers suffered stressful events while pregnant with them are more likely to suffer from depression in later life, Irish researchers have found.

The study, co-authored by Dr Áine Behan from the department of physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), could help in the development of anti-depressant medicines.

By studying certain parts of the brains of mice whose mothers had stress induced in them in the late stages of pregnancy, they found a reduced number of brain cells called glial cells, a factor already known to be linked to depressive illness in adults.