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Our Antenatal and Postnatal Depression forum is a supportive space where you can share your postnatal depression experiences.

Antenatal/postnatal depression

Lack of eye contact from children of PND sufferers

3 replies

hatebeingmummy · 16/12/2011 17:57

Hi ther,

I have been looking in to how my PND/ on-going potential depression/ general issues with motherhood may have effected my DD and something that keeps coming up is eyecontact.

Has anyone else got any knowledge of this?

My DD can't retain eye contact with me at all. I have never noticed it really... well, I have picked her up on it a couple of times but didn't really think much of it and no one else has mentioned it.

I am loath to ask her teachers or anyone else in case it "outs" me as a "bad" mother.

When I think about it, I am very bad at eye contact. I would much rather look away when i speak to people and often find it physically impossible to look people in the eye. I'm doing some work with a counsellor so we are talking baout my mum a bit and I will mention this to the counsellor at my next appointment too.

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hatebeingmummy · 16/12/2011 17:58

In fact i can't look my mum in the eye either... weird.

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girliefriend · 16/12/2011 18:04

Hello I think the eye contact thing is quite common in babies with mums who have pnd, its to do with them finding it hard to look at a unhappy face or not having their face recipricated (most mums automatically mirror their babies face and expressions.)

It is something that can be worked on though and I think its positive that it is something you have picked up on. Def talk to your counsellor about it and maybe h.v as well - they shouldn't judge you but could hopefully give you some advice.

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hatebeingmummy · 16/12/2011 18:06

Thnaks gf. My DD is 5 so I'm past the health visitor stage. I know i've left this a bit late to deal with but better late than never hey.

That makes sense about the mirroring of the face.

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