Abstract: Postnatal depression, a common psychiatric disorder in postpartum women, affects their life and the relationship with others in family. The important thing to realize about that is postnatal depression increases risk of children’s mental disorders. Based on the summary on the adverse effects from depressed mothers on their offspring, four mechanisms were reviewed, including heritability, innate dysfunctional neuroregulatory mechanisms, parenting and stressors. These mechanisms could lead to children’s problems in cognition, emotion, behavior and social interaction. And factors mediating the effects of postnatal depression on child development, such as depression severity, children’s age and gender and family environment, were further proposed. We hoped that this discussion be helpful to lower the effect of postnatal depression on children development.

Key words: Depression, postpartum, Child development, Mental health