Motherhood Lowers Risk of Suicide Among Women
January 31st, 2011
While postpartum depression affects more than one in ten pregnant women and new mothers, new research suggests that over the long-term, motherhood is protective of a woman’s mental health. This idea has been around since the turn of the twentieth century, when Émile Durkheim hypothesized that the lower suicide rate among married women had more to do with motherhood than with marriage. In the first large-scale study to assess his theory, researchers at the Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan have found it holds true. In fact, more children means an even lower risk. Compared to women with one child, women with two children were 39% less likely to commit suicide and women with three or more children were 60% less likely. Though the study didn’t address the causes behind this trend, its authors hypothesize that motherhood improves women’s’ sense of self-worth and enhances the social support they experience.
© Copyright 2011 by www.GoodTherapy.org Fresno Bureau - All Rights Reserved. 
-
Find the Right Therapist
-
7 Comments | Click here to leave a comment.
Comments
being a mother is a great feeling and I have no doubt that other mothers like me would agree that it is not a surprise to know that motherhood reduces suicide risk.
when you know that there is a child(or children) you are the world for,you wouldn’t think of leaving this world, you would want to be there for them, even if the partner is worthless.
Babies are a part of the mother until their birth and hence it is understandable that there exists a very strong bond between the two. Maybe this is just biology or maybe this is psychology but a baby is just so much happiness for a mother, I’m not at all surprised with this report :)
Family is an important thing for anybody.but children seem like your responsibility and a mother’s heart cannot think of leaving her children and going away.Ever.
All we ever see are pictures and stories about busy moms with lots of kids going crazy, and people wondering why there are some of us who have so many kids. I guess for me, and lots more according to this story, the children in my home are what keep me grounded and sane. Goes against the normal mode of thinking but for me this has always proven to be true.
And there was my mother always telling me I was driving her to an early grave too. She should count herself lucky I’m baby number five! ;)
I think part of this is simply basic human instinct. It’s an instinct of most animals to be there for their baby offspring, and if you kill yourself, you won’t be there, will you? The mothering instinct is a force to be reckoned with.
Yeah Violet, but that instinct also wears off very, very fast in most of the animal kingdom, with humans being the exception. How do you know the mother isn’t thinking her kids will be better off without her anyway? You’re making the mistake there of assuming the mother is thinking rationally. I don’t think any person that commits suicide can be in that life or death moment. If they were they would know there’s always help available somewhere, no matter what it is that’s troubling them. Suicide isn’t the answer.
Leave a Reply
By commenting you acknowledge acceptance of GoodTherapy.org's Terms and Conditions of Use.