BENGALURU: Pregnant mothers suffering from anxiety or depression are proven to be transferring their stress to their unborn children, affecting their health. Dr Prabha Chandra, Dean of Faculty (Behavioural Sciences), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) has been leading the Maternal and Child Mental Health Study - Bangalore Child Health and Development Study (BCHADS), studying maternal and child cohort with detailed mental health and developmental assessment from pregnancy till middle childhood.
The BCHADS study initiated in 2016 will be completed in 2024. The doctors studied the behavioural patterns of 912 women across multiple public health centres (PHCs) in Bengaluru and found that women suffering from anxiety and depression had children with low birth weight.
Also, factors like domestic violence or passive smoking were studied to identify their effect on the health of the mother and child. It was observed that domestic violence, which many women faced, including pregnant women and second-hand smoke were possible reasons for pre-term delivery or behavioural differences in the children.
Dr Chandra added that a mother’s surroundings, including the behaviour of the father and grandparents, affect prenatal and postnatal stress. Since the burden of mental health disorders has also increased among children, this research will continue to study behavioural patterns among children till middle childhood.
The BCHADS is linked to the UK Wirral Child Health and Development Study (WCHADS) with parallel timing of assessment and measurement. “The studies are designed with common measurement in the UK (WCHADS) and India (BCHADS) so we can test whether certain risk and protective factors contribute to the development of child mental health problems in both settings,” the University of Liverpool stated.
With the burden of mental health disorders becoming more prevalent, especially among children in India, the researchers have highlighted the urgent need for culturally sensitive studies of community samples starting in pregnancy, examining the earliest signs of child mental health issues to take interventional measures accordingly.