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Atlantis Burns

Middle Tennessee State University

PRST 4995-D04

Professor Debra L. Haber

13 February 2021

Atlantis Burns

Professor Haber

PRST 4995

13 February 21

Research Proposal and Literature Review

What’s usually supposed to be a happy and joyful time after having a baby, can be a confusing, depressing, and overwhelming time for a mother with postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a common medical illness with a number of symptoms that result from the changes following childbirth. The earliest months of a child’s life is a significant time for cognitive and verbal development (Cherry, 2019) When a mother is depressed it effects the quality of care for a child due to maternal disengagement and negative interactions. It is important to learn more about the mental health of mothers with postpartum depression in order to prevent long term consequences to both the mother and child.

How postpartum depression effects the development of a child is complicated because it is unknown what causes the depression. Several factors may be involved though which makes research from multiple disciplines necessary to develop a complete understanding the problem. No single discipline has been able to address the problem comprehensibly because postpartum depression is a mix of physical, emotional, and behavioral changes that new mothers are usually embarrassed to seek help for. The effects of postpartum depression on a child is an important issue because if left untreated postpartum depression can cause adversity in children. Understanding the effects of postpartum depression is the key to determining the impacts babies feel when their mothers suffer from postpartum depression and the importance of treatment to avoid future behavioral or emotional problems in children. Postpartum is an important issue concerning women and children in our society every day regardless of their income, education, or ethnicity.

The disciplines potentially related to this research problem are psychology, biology, and education. Psychology is related to my question because it is the study of how people think, feel, and behave. Biology is related to my research question because you could observe how postpartum depression changes child brain structure. Lastly, education is related to my question because you could look at how educating women during pregnancy could decrease the likelihood of postpartum depression leading to healthier brain development in children.

During my time at MTSU I have taken a number of psychology courses including Developmental Psychology (PSY 2300), Abnormal Psychology (PSY 3230), and Personality (PSY 3590) that connect to my research problem. My areas of emphasis Psychology and Human Sciences, helped me learn the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect women and make them more vulnerable for postpartum depression. In Developmental Psychology, I learned how behavior, feeling, and thinking change throughout life, about growth, change, and development of childhood, and I looked at patterns of change and how developmental attachment affects a person’s life. This relates to my problem because it gives me insight into how inadequate maternal care reduces children’s cognitive performance due to the lack of interpersonal relationships and infant’s gender. In Personality, I observed personality patterns and its variation among individuals, how people are similar and different and how people think and behave. I also learned that personality is based on a number of factors including upbringing, genetics, and life experiences. This relates to my problem because it deepened my understanding of the five personality traits and how they attribute to emotional and environmental aspects of motherhood. In Abnormal Psychology I studied unusual patterns of behavior, emotion, and thought, characteristics of mental illnesses and treatments for each. This relates to my research because I learned about potential treatments for postpartum depression and the symptoms of other closely related illnesses. Although mental postpartum depression is more recognized, it is still underdiagnosed due to the stigma of the diagnosis.

References

Bell, K., Bloor, K., & Hewitt, C. (2019). How Do Undiagnosed Symptoms of Maternal Psychological Distress During the Postnatal Period Affect Child Developmental Outcomes? Maternal and Child Health Journal, 23(9), 1187–1195. https://doi-org.ezproxy.mtsu.edu/10.1007/s10995-019-02749-w

Burns, A. (2020) ‘Research Topic Exploration’ Middle Tennessee State University. Unpublished assignment.

Burns, A. (2020) ‘Using Sources Activity and Assignment’ Middle Tennessee State University. Unpublished assignment

Farías-Antúnez S, Xavier MO, Santos IS. Effect of maternal postpartum depression on offspring’s growth. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2018;228:143-152. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.013

“Postpartum Depression.” Womenshealth.gov, 14 May 2019, www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression.

Repko, A. F., Szostak, R., & Buchberger, M. P. (2020). Introduction to interdisciplinary studies. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Wellness, S., 1, & Lee. (2018, June 26). How does Postpartum Depression Affect Children? Retrieved from http://www.serenityrw.com/postpartum-depression-affect-children/