According to the early head start research and evaluation project of 2002, approximately 48% of mothers self-reported depressive symptoms indicating they were depressed at the time of their enrollment in the project. why is maternal depression such a big deal?

Based on the number of percentage of mothers self-reported depressive symptoms, maternal depression is such a big deal because like any other mental disorders, maternal depression could also alter one's daily living and functioning, most especially that these are mothers who need to take care of their newborns. They would not be able to attend the needs of the infants, and this might also lead to injury of either the mother or the body or both, or in worse cases, may lead to death. Hope this answer helps.