Healthcare in Pakistan
Depression often starts at young age and affects women more commonly than men. One or two mothers out of 10 have depression after childbirth. Depression also limits a mother’s capacity to care for her child, and can seriously affect the child’s growth and development. A study showed that exposure to maternal mental distress is associated with undernutrition in 9‐month infants in urban Pakistan.
Post-adoption depression syndrome
Adoptive parents face lots of changes in their lives and daily routines after adoption, which can affect the parents state of mental health. These would include the parental evaluation first time adoptive parents face, possible financial strain as well as the reminder of infertility and therefore possible feelings of guilt or inadequacy. New parents also encounter other stresses that are not due to the adoption process specifically, like lack of sleep or the physical exhaustion suffered from caring for a young child.