Children's Needs – Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...

102 Children’s Needs – Parenting Capacitydetection of depression in mothers, along with short-term support for their children, mayprevent the development of disorders before they begin’ (Reiss 2008, p.1084).A study by Wolkind (1981) found that babies born to mothers suffering apsychiatric illness during pregnancy were of a lower birth weight than babies bornto mothers without a psychiatric illness during pregnancy. However, a direct causallink was difficult to establish because significantly more mothers in the psychiatricgroup smoked. Smoking rates among adults with depression are about twice as highas among adults without depression, and the rates for people with schizophrenia arethree times those for people who are not affected. Moreover, smokers with mentalhealth problems are more likely to smoke heavily than those without mental healthproblems (Mental Health Foundation 2007). A further complicating factor is thatthe effects of mental illness impact on the expectant mothers’ attendance at antenatalclinics. Mothers suffering from schizophrenia, anxiety and depression find itmore difficult to keep medical appointments.Impact of parental learning disabilityLearning disability can affect parents in their decision making and preparation forthe birth of their child. Many parents with learning disabilities are poorly informedabout contraception and the significance of changes in their menstrual pattern, andas a result they may find it hard to take realistic and informed decisions aboutfamily planning; initially, they may fail to recognise their pregnancy (James 2004).Consequently, the quality of the woman’s ante-natal care is often jeopardised bylate presentation and poor attendance (McGaw and Sturmey 1993). When womenwith learning disabilities do attend ante-natal care, they may experience difficulty inunderstanding the information and advice they receive or have problems in puttingit into practice.Genetics and the environmentGenetics and the environment are both important factors in the understanding ofhow parental learning disability affects the unborn child. For example, the childrenof parents with learning disabilities have been found to be at increased risk frominherited learning disabilities, psychological and physical disorders (Rende andPlomin 1993; McGaw and Newman 2005). Research suggests that approximately40% of children born to parents with learning disabilities experience developmentaldelay (Gath 1988). McConnell and Llewellyn, who examined the literature,conclude,‘... there is a higher incidence of developmental delay in younger children, andlearning difficulties and challenging behaviours in primary school aged childrenof parents with intellectual disability ... these difficulties cannot be attributedto poverty or parental intellectual disability per se, since these children are aheterogeneous group’.(McConnell and Llewellyn 2002, pp.304–305)