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FRIDAY, April 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Women who develop mental health problems after delivering their first child are much less likely to have more, a Danish study finds. But this is not the case among women whose first child died. For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 414,000 women in Denmark who had a first live birth between 1997 and 2015. About 1% developed problems such as depression, anxiety, mania and schizophrenia within six months after the birth. Sixty-nine percent of these women went on to have a second child, compared to 82% of mothers who had no mental health issues after their first live birth, the investigators found. Study leader Xiaoqin Liu said researchers need to figure out why 31% of mothers who had postpartum mental health issues did not...

FRIDAY, April 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has added to already high stress levels in emergency rooms, a social psychologist says. "ER providers are on the front line of this pandemic, and stress, anxiety and anger are increasing," said Linda Isbell, a professor of psychology at University of Massachusetts Amherst. "As we all face anxiety about the fallout of this pandemic, anger about a health care system that was already stretched thin and under-resourced is likely to grow," she explained in a university news release. Isbell's team interviewed 45 doctors and 41 nurses who offered mixed feelings about life in the ER. Persistent issues such as understaffing, overcrowding and limited resources for homeless and mentally ill patients elicited overwhelmingly...

FRIDAY, April 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Having a furry, fluffy or feathered friend can have a profound effect on seniors' mental health, possibly even helping prevent some suicides, new research suggests. In a group of 35 older people who were pet owners, more than one-third said they were "actively suicidal" or "significantly traumatized," but their pets gave them a reason to live. One of these men had dogs and exotic birds with very specialized care needs. "I actually realized the only thing that is really keeping me alive, was these [dogs] and the birds, giving me a chance to get out of bed in the morning," he said. "[My wife] would not feed them; she refused to feed them, so I had to get out of bed, and do something, all right? Otherwise, I would be asleep for 20 to 22...

FRIDAY, April 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People with asthma and other lung diseases are at increased risk for serious complications from COVID-19, caution experts from the American Lung Association. "Everyone's health is at risk from COVID-19, and those living with a lung disease or who are immunocompromised may be more vulnerable to the impacts of the virus," said Dr. Albert Rizzo, the association's chief medical officer. COVID-19 can cause a pneumonia-like lung infection, with a range of symptoms from mild or absent in some to life-threatening in others, he said. It's crucial for people with chronic lung diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to keep taking their maintenance medications and tell their health care provider about any symptoms or...