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Angelina Jolie: Hooked on Kids?

Too many kids too quickly can be sign of depression, experts warn

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 28, 2008 10:16 AM CST

(Newser) – As actress Angelina Jolie nurtures her latest pregnancy that will boost the number in her brood to 5—all under the age of 7—people are beginning to wonder if it's a bit much.
In fact some mental health experts believe the former wild child's rapidly expanding family could be a sign of depression. A compulsion to have children "is a way of self-medicating," a psychologist told ABC News. It can be "a distraction from feelings of emptiness."

Jolie is hardly the first actress who has collected kids. Mia Farrow, 62, had three husbands and 15 children—four biological and the rest adopted. One of her lovers, Woody Allen, married one of her kids. Parenting lots of kids "keeps you busy, wins attention from other people, and helps you define your own role," pointed out the author of a book on motherhood and depression. "All those things manage depression."

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[Videos (1)]

Angelina Jolie, left, and Brad Pitt arrive at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles) (Associated Press)

Actress Angelina Jolie arrives for a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, Thursday, April 26, 2007, to announce the launch of Global Action for Children (GAC). The GAC is a nonpartisan... (Associated Press)

Actress Angelina Jolie talks to her son Maddox at a news conference in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, Monday, Dec. 3, 2007. Jolie was attending the news conference where actor Brad Pitt announced his latest... (Associated Press)

Actress and UNHCR Ambassador Angelina Jolie, left, with daughter Zahara, and Brad Pitt, second right, with son Maddox, walk near the Gateway of India. Missing were daughter Shiloh and son Pax.(AP Photo) (Associated Press)

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ANGELINA JOLIE-Jolie reveals pregnant bump 24.Feb.2008 (screamingangieA (YouTube))

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Angelina Jolie: Hooked on Kids?