Parents' Mental Health

Is Critical to Children's Care

 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

Preview
Words Expressions

1. postnatal /ˌpəʊstˈneɪ.təl/ [adjective] feeds upon itself

relating to the period of time immediately after a baby has been born
peer relationships
2. psychiatry /saɪˈkaɪə.tri/ [noun]
the part of medicine that studies mental illness
routines and rituals
3. stigma /ˈstɪɡ.mə/ [noun]
a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, psychologically vulnerable
especially when this is unfair
vicious cycle
4. manifest /ˈmæn.ɪ.fest/ [verb]
to show something clearly, through signs or actions

5. regimen /ˈredʒ.ɪ.mən/ [noun]

any set of rules about food and exercise that someone follows, especially in order to
improve their health

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 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

Article

Parents' Mental Health Is Critical to Children's Care

Like many other primary care doctors, I sometimes sense the

shadow of depression hovering at the edges of the exam room. I
am haunted by one mother with severe postnatal depression. Years
ago, I took proper care of the baby, but I missed the mother's
distress, as did everyone else.
Research into postnatal depression in particular has underscored
the importance of checking up on parents' mental health in the first
months of a baby's life.
But a parent's depression, it turns out, can be linked to all kinds of
problems, even in the lives of older children.
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 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

''Depression is an illness that feeds upon itself,'' said Dr. William Beardslee,
professor of child psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who has spent his
career studying depression in children and developing family interventions.
''Very often people who are depressed don't seek the care they need." In 2009,
the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council issued a report,
''Depression in Parents, Parenting, and Children,'' that summarized a large and
growing body of research on the ways that parental depression can affect how
people take care of their children, and how those children fare.

One in five Americans will suffer from depression at some point, noted Dr.
Beardslee, who was on the committee that issued the report. ''Untreated,
unrecognized parental depression can lead to negative consequences for
kids,'' he said, ranging from poor school performance to increased visits to the
emergency room to poorer peer relationships and adolescent depression.

Moreover, there is plenty of evidence that when depressed parents get

treatment and help with their parenting, families are much better off.
Depression is certainly treatable, said Dr. Mary Jane England, a psychiatrist
and professor of health policy and management at Boston University
School of Public Health, who led the Institute of Medicine committee.
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 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

But, she added, ''because of stigma and lack of training of some of

our primary care practitioners, we don't pick it up.'' Depression
damages the interactions between parents and children, and disrupts
family routines and rituals. Children with a depressed parent are
themselves more likely to manifest symptoms of depression, research
shows, along with other psychiatric problems and behavior. issues.
They are more likely to make visits to the emergency room and more
likely to be injured.

A depressed parent may have trouble following a plan of preventive

care if a child has a medical problem like asthma. But higher rates of
depression in parents whose children have chronic medical problems
may also reflect the stress of dealing with those problems, especially for
psychologically vulnerable parents. Depression may become part of a
vicious cycle in these families: An overwhelmed and depressed parent is
less able to follow a complex medical regimen, and a child ends up in
the emergency room or the hospital, creating more pressure and more
stress for the family.

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 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

Discussion

1. What do you think is the difference between feeling

depressed and depression?
2. Have you ever felt depressed? Talk about it.
3. What do you think are the influences of parents on their
children on every aspect?

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 Learn and Talk III – Lesson 22

Further Reading

Full Text: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_71c874670102xfem.html

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