Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Postpartum depression (PPD) bears a negative effect on both the mother and child. Treating PPD is complicated by the fact that prescribed antidepressants (e.g. Prozac) pass into breast milk and may have detrimental effects for child development. However, untreated PPD has well-established negative effects on child development with boys being more vulnerable than girls to exhibit attentional and cognitive disturbances. It is unclear whether maternal exposure to Prozac has long-term effects on male and female development (i.e. in adulthood). This study aims to fill this gap as well as examine whether alternative, non-pharmacological interventions like exercise are efficacious for PPD without perturbing offspring development. We used a rodent model of PPD to investigate whether maternal postpartum Prozac exposure and/or voluntary access to a running wheel (exercise) would alleviate a corticosterone-induced depressive phenotype in the rodent mother. Additionally, we weaned the male and female rat offspring and evaluated anxiety-like behaviour and stress reactivity in adulthood. The goals of this study were to highlight the importance of studying the postpartum period, a time of increased mental health issues for women, as well as how treating PPD may differentially affect boys and girls of PPD mothers. Thus, treating PPD should include consideration for the mother as well as balancing risk to male and female offspring development.