Science Daily News – May 16, 2010 — According to an article found in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), motherhood appears to protect against suicides. Interestingly, increasing numbers of children were associated with decreasing rates of death from suicide.
The study followed 1.3 million women in Taiwan over a period of 20 years and was undertaken to prove a theory by the sociologist Emile Durkheim in 1897 that parenthood is protection against suicide. The findings show a 39 percent decrease in suicide-related deaths in women who had two live births, and a 60 percent decrease among women with three or more births compared to women with one child. Participants in the study gave birth between Jan. 1978 and Dec. 1987, and were monitored until the end of 2007. Other studies of the same nature have not been as significant, due to small sample size. This study has significant findings because of the large sample size and the number of deaths from suicide, 2252, in the group.
Suicide in Taiwan is the eight leading cause of death among men and the ninth among women, with those numbers consistantly rising since 1999. Most Western countries have had a stable or decreasing rate of suicide since the late 1990’s, but the ratio of suicide among men and women is greater. “There is a clear tendency found toward decreasing rates of suicide with increasing numbers of children after controlling for age, marital status, years of schooling, and place of delivery,” says Dr. Chun Yuh Yang, from the Medical University in Taiwan.
Having children may protect against suicide because children often increase the mother’s sense of self worth. Also, children provide material and emotional support to a mother while defining for her a social role. Motherhood also often expands or enhances a woman’s social support and social networks.
Scientists are hoping to expand these findings amongst women in Western countries who struggle with motherhood and depression.
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