Maternal postnatal depression has been associated with a broad range of developmental risk among children. However, there has been less focus on disentangling the effects of pre- and postnatal depressive symptoms, as well as examining the symptoms of both parents. This study aims to investigate the separate effects of pre- and postnatal depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers, and parents' differential effects on child social-emotional, cognitive, and language development at 18 months of age. Further, we investigate whether effects of depressive symptomatology on child outcomes are particularly strong when both parents evinced high symptom loads and whether parenting stress mediates associations between perinatal depressive symptoms and child developmental outcomes. The study used data from 1036 families participating in a community-based study from mid-pregnancy until 18 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed at seven time points (four prenatally). Within a structural equation framework, we found that parental perinatal depressive symptoms predicted child social-emotional functioning, specifically externalizing, internalizing, and dysregulation problems, as well as language developmental delay at 18 months. Controlling for postnatal symptoms we found no independent effect of prenatal depressive symptoms on any child outcomes. A differential effect was evident, linking maternal symptoms to social-emotional outcomes, and paternal symptoms to language outcomes. There was no evidence of stronger associations between depressive symptoms and child outcomes when both parents showed high symptom loads. However, parenting stress mediated most relations between parental depressive symptoms and child outcomes. Findings demonstrate the importance of including paternal depressive symptoms in both clinical and research contexts.

Depressive symptoms among pregnant and postpartum women are common. However, recent studies indicate that depressive symptoms in the perinatal period do not follow a uniform course, and investigations of the heterogeneity of time courses and associated factors are needed. The aim of this study was to explore whether depressive symptoms in the perinatal period could be categorized into several distinct trajectories of symptom development among subgroups of perinatal women, and to identify predictors of these trajectory groups. The study used data from 1,036 Norwegian women participating in a community-based prospective study from midpregnancy until 12-months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 7 time points (4 during pregnancy). Partner-related attachment, stress, childhood adversities, pregnancy-related anxiety, previous psychopathology, and socioeconomic conditions were assessed at enrollment. By means of growth mixture modeling based on piecewise growth curves, 4 classes of depressive symptom trajectories were identified, including (a) pregnancy only (4.4%); (b) postpartum only (2.2%); (c) moderate-persistent (10.5%); and (d) minimum symptoms (82.9%) classes. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that membership in the pregnancy only and postpartum only classes primarily was associated with pregnancy-related anxiety and previous psychopathology, respectively, whereas the moderate-persistent class was associated with diverse psychosocial adversity factors. Findings suggest heterogeneity in temporal patterns of elevated depressive mood, relating specific trajectories of time courses with distinct adversity factors. Researchers and clinicians should be aware of possible multiple courses of elevated perinatal depressive mood, and inquire about possible diverse adversity factors, aberrant pathways, and prognoses. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parenting stress can influence caregiving behavior negatively, which in turn may harm children’s development. Identifying precursors of parenting stress, preferably beginning during pregnancy and throughout the first year of life, is therefore important. The present study aims to provide novel knowledge on this issue through a detailed examination of the association between maternal attachment style and later parenting stress. Moreover, we examine the role of several additional risk factors, specificially the mothers’ own adverse childhood experiences (ACE), as well as infants’ temperamental characteristics. Data from a community based longitudinal study of 1,036 Norwegian mothers, collected during pregnancy and 12 months after childbirth, were used. Results showed that attachment style in pregnancy predicted parenting stress 1 year after birth. In addition, it was demonstrated that the mothers’ own ACEs predicted postnatal parenting stress, and that attachment style operated as a mediator of this association. A significant association between perceived infant temperament and parenting stress was also found. The study illustrates the importance of understanding the multifactorial antecedents of parenting stress. The results may inform early intervention efforts aimed at supporting mothers and their partners in the potentially difficult transition period around childbirth.