Claude de Tychey, of the French university Nancy 2, studied 181 women who had given birth and found that just under a third of them suffered from PND.
Nine per cent of the women in the study had severe PND and just over three quarters of those had given birth to boys.
"Postnatal depression is very common and poses a major public health problem, especially if it is not diagnosed and treated," Professor de Tychey said. "When we launched our research, our main aim was to study the effect that gender has on PND.
But the overwhelming finding of the study was the fact that gender appears to play a significant role in reduced quality of life as well as an increased chance of severe PND."
"Postnatal depression can have a considerable impact on women as it can affect both their physical and mental health," Professor de Tychey said.
The study was carried out in a French community where women did not face cultural pressures over the sex of their baby.
(Adapted from the article, Postnatal Depression 'Can Be Worse With A Male Baby' by Nigel Hawkes for the Times News Service)
Q1. What is this article about? A.Misbehaving boys that make their mothers upset. B.Depression that occurs when mothers have boys but wanted girls. C.Results from a new medical study about depression.
Q2. Which of the following was not a factor contributing to post natal depression in the study group? A.Cultural pressure over the baby's gender. B.The baby's gender. C.Recent childbirth.
Q3. This study was conducted in __________. A.secrecy B.a University C.France
Q4. What percentage of the study group had post natal depression? A.Just under a third. B.Just over a third. C.Just under three quarters.
