A new study revealed that owning a cat during pregnancy increases the mother’s risk of postpartum depression, however, the same study showed that dogs reduce this risk, as well as helping dogs for pregnant women to cope with other mental health problems such as anxiety and psychological distress after Birth.

The study says, “Cat owners who are pregnant women are also at risk of contracting the parasitic toxoplasmosis, which causes an infectious disease that can lead to miscarriage, infant abnormality or brain disorder,” according to the British newspaper, “Daily Mail”.

Lead author Kenta Matsumura said: “We discovered that the type of pet owned can affect a mother’s mental health, both in the perinatal and postnatal period, and our findings suggest that special attention should be given to owners of cats, who are at risk for cats. higher for mental health complications in addition to toxoplasmosis.”

“Previous studies have looked at the relationship between pet ownership and the mental health of different demographics, however, these studies have not targeted many women around childbirth, when they are at increased risk of mental health disorders,” he says. Matsumura’s team designed a questionnaire to investigate how animal ownership affects Pets on the mental health of pregnant women.

During the study, information was collected on topics including demographic, socioeconomic status, medical and obstetric history, physical and mental health, and lifestyle. them on five occasions – in the first three months, in the second or third trimester, in one month, six months, and one year after birth.

The findings, published this month in the journal Social Science & Medicine Owning a dog during pregnancy was associated with reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety at one month and six months after birth, and new mothers who had dogs showed signs of lower psychological stress at 12 months after birth.

In contrast, cat ownership was associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms at six months postpartum, and symptoms of psychological distress were observed in the second or third trimester of pregnancy for both owners of pregnant cats and owners of pregnant dogs, however, this was very similar to a control group of mothers. who do not have pets.

The study authors conclude that the type of pet owned during pregnancy plays a role in the mother’s mental health before and after birth, and also suggest that dogs’ long history of domestication may be the reason for their beneficial effect on mood. in both types, including human mental health.”

The Daily Mail report indicated that the exact mechanism behind the second discovery of the increased risk of mental health problems with cat ownership is unknown, while some researchers have shown that the attachment between humans and cats is as high as human attachment to a dog, and others have shown that cat owners respect themselves less than owners dogs.

“Unlike dogs, cats have a shorter history of cohabiting with humans, and therefore the degree of co-evolution is not yet mature enough to produce widespread benefits in humans,” the report explained.

the cats

While the study did not take into account the number of pets a pregnant woman has, the extent of her care burden, and whether she would like to have pets, and since it is impossible to control for all variables, the authors claim they are unable to provide a specific reason for their findings.

They concluded: “Observed relationships do not necessarily mean that owning a dog will prevent mothers from developing postpartum depression or psychological distress. For example, we cannot exclude the possibility that pregnant mothers with poor mental health tend not to own dogs but rather to Giving birth to kittens.