A new study found that pregnant millennials are more likely to be depressed than young expectant mothers in previous generations.
The Journal of the American Medical Association: Network Open stated that pregnant women, aged 19 to 24, were 51 percent more likely to struggle with depression than similarly aged women 25 years ago, according to Newsweek.
Researchers based their finding on a study which followed two generations of young mothers in southwest England, who had given birth between 1990 and 1992, and 2012 and 2016. The second group scored higher on depressive symptoms tests (25 percent vs. 17 percent) such as feelings of self-blame, sleeping problems, anxiety and worry.
Possible reasons for the depression increase include inflexible work arrangements, financial pressures and difficulty balancing work and home life.
“Given that very young age at pregnancy is a risk factor for depression, this would suggest that, if anything, depression in [millennial women] is underestimated and the increase could be greater,” lead author Rebecca Pearson wrote.
The findings also revealed that daughters of the women in the study were nearly 54 percent more likely to experience depression if their mothers had as well.
While stars of all ages including Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen and Adele have been open about postpartum depression, prenatal depression seems to be mentioned less often.
During her second pregnancy, Jenny Mollen shared her experience with “prepartum” depression, saying at the time that she didn’t think it was “addressed enough.”
“I could already be in a depression,” the actress and author revealed at the time. “I’m planning on eating my placenta, but I’m also anticipating a major emotional dive. I think that it’s chemical. I think people don’t talk about it enough.”
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