Great news, ball busting career women with no time to trifle with babies until you’re at least in the C-suite: having your first child later in life is no more likely to lead to depression than having a child early in life. But boarding the motherhood train just a few minutes before it leaves the station may still may lead to complications that might themselves lead to depression.
Reuters reports that a newly published study by Australian researchers followed more than 500 first-time mothers, about half who had conceived naturally and half who became pregnant using fertility treatments. The women were surveyed during their first trimester and given diagnostic tests for depression within the first four months after giving birth. They found that, contrary to a persistent cultural belief, women who give birth to their first child when they’re over the age of 37 are no more likely to become depressed in the first four months after childbirth than women who have their first baby at a younger age. About 8% of both groups exhibited symptoms of postpartum depression.
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