Study Links Depression of Moms with Short Kids

Good news if you are breeding jockeys

From the Where the Hell Do They Get The Money For This Stuff Department:

A new study of over 6500 kids conducted by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University suggests that kids grow shorter than average if their mothers suffer from depression within 12 months of giving birth. The full study will be published in October’s Pediatrics.

Well, this seems to be good news if you are trying to breed jockeys.  The shorter kids do not suffer from dwarfism but are just 40% more likely to be shorter than average. 

It is unknown why depressed mothers and the height of their offspring are seemingly linked.  In order to find that out, more studies need to be done.

As if Moms or Mums don’t have enough to be depressed about, now they have to worry about causing their kids to be nicknamed “munchkin.”

The study’s lead author, Pamela Surkan, did note that the study shows that mothers-to-be and their doctors need to be more alert for signs of postpartum depression.  Since new mothers may not be familiar with the symptoms of depression, they may assume that they cannot be cured and so do not bother seeking help.

Personally, I fully understand that postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious issue for women.  Mothers suffering from PPD have committed suicide for what is a treatable condition.  But I don’t see what’s so bad about being 40% shorter than average.  Seems like a strange motivating factor to increase education about PPD.  Are we that desperate for champion basketball players?  Or have we, as a species, been so accustomed to asking our kids to get items off of the top shelf that news that they may become 40% shorter than average horrifies us?

The Jockey Club has not issued any statement on the study’s findings.