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Mom’s Depression May Lead to Shorter Kids

The study doesn’t prove that mom’s depression causes a child’s short stature, only that the two are associated. And the authors couldn’t confirm the underlying mechanism linking the two factors, but they had some theories: maternal depression can lead to increased stress in kids, for example, and chronically high levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been associated with lower levels of growth hormones in kids. Depressed moms may also have poor feeding practices like spending less time breast feeding.  “Maternal depressive symptoms are associated with insecure attachment in children and with poor parenting behaviors,” the authors write.

 Your mission is to think of a reality based mechanism.