Early social deprivation (i.e., an insufficiency or lack of parental care) has been identified as a significant adverse early experience that may affect multiple facets of child development and cause long-term outcomes in physical and mental health, cognition and behavior. Current research provides growing evidence that epigenetic reprogramming may be a mechanism modulating these effects of early adversities. This work aimed to investigate the impact of early institutionalization—the immersion in an extreme socially depriving environment in humans—on the epigenome and adaptive behavior of young children up to 4 years of age. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving two comparison groups: 29 children raised in orphanages and 29 children raised in biological families. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of blood cells were obtained using the Illumina MethylationEPIC array; the level of child adaptive functioning was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II. In comparison to children raised in families, children residing in orphanages had both statistically significant deficits in multiple adaptive behavior domains and statistically significant differences in DNA methylation states. Moreover, some of these methylation states may directly modulate the behavioral deficits; according to preliminary estimates, about 7–14% of the deviation of adaptive behavior between groups of children may be determined by their difference in DNA methylation profiles. The duration of institutionalization had a significant impact on both the adaptive level and DNA methylation status of institutionalized children.

The article analyzes the phenomenon of parenting stress: the concept, structure, and factors that influence its emergence. The analysis of foreign studies revealed 3 main groups of factors of parenting stress in mothers of early- and preschool- aged children: child’s characteristics, personality characteristics and mother’s socio-demographic characteristics, socio-psychological factors. The study showed that parenting stress in this group of mothers interplays with the temperament of the child, his health and age. As personal characteristics are concerned, the closest relations were found with the neuroticism of the mother and her assessment of self-efficacy. The review also revealed the effect of depression and psychopathology on maternal personality and constructive coping strategies which help to reduce parenting stress. The experience of neglect and abuse in childhood, a low level of marriage satisfaction and social support contribute to increased parenting stress of mothers having children of early and preschool age

The research literature suggests that institutions for children left without parental care do not provide environments that adequately promote children's development, and that characteristics of orphanages should be considered as an environmental factor influencing developmental difficulties in children living in institutions and later in post-institutional families. This study aimed to analyze the structural characteristics of the caregiving environment in two St. Petersburg (RF) orphanages-baby homes for children from birth to 4-5 years of age (BH A and BH B), and the maintenance of the structural interventions that were implemented in BH A during 2000-05 (The St. Petersburg-USA Orphanage Research Team, 2008). Both institutions belong to the Ministry of Health and are managed under the same medical regulations, providing about the same quality of medical care and nutrition. The results of the study show that the number of children living in each ward (4 to 6 in BH A and 5 to 8 in BH B), and the child-caregiver ratio (2 to 3 for BH A and 2.5 to 4 for BH B) in the two baby homes are about the same, while BH A have fewer staff members who are assigned to the ward (6-8 vs. 9-14 in BH B). The ward assistant teachers in BH A are assigned as the primary caregivers, working 5 days a week (39 hrs) vs. about 25 hrs a week for assistant teachers in BH B. While living in the baby home, children in BH A are integrated by age and disability (vs. segregation by age and partial disability integration in BH B), and are assigned to one ward (meaning the same caregivers, peers, rooms, etc.), while in BH B the children change their ward when they reach a certain age or developmental milestone (number of wards children experienced M(SD) = 1.1 (0.2) in BH A and 2.7 (1.1) in BH B). Our results support the hypothesis that the structural characteristics of institutional environment in the two baby homes are different, and that in comparison with BH B, the structural characteristics of BH A show more caregiving stability and consistency. The results also show that the interventions implemented in BH A within the St. Petersburg-USA Orphanage Research Project were maintained for many years after the project was finished. The specific features of R. J. Muhamedrahimov, I. A. Arincina, M. Y. Solodunova et al. an institutional caregiving environment should be taken into consideration in studies of the mental health and bio-behavioral development of children in institutions and postinstitutional families.

The article is the review of research studies published in 2020 on anxiety, depression and stress of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that 35% to 69,6% pregnant women and newly mothers experience moderate-to-strong levels of anxiety, 18,2%-36,4% demonstrate clinically significant symptoms of depression, 10,3-16,7% have symptoms of PTSD. These numbers are twice higher than the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress presented in pre-pandemic scientific literature. The most significant factor influencing the high levels of anxiety, stress and depression during the pandemic is the presence of these disorders before pregnancy. Other important factors are younger age, lower household income, lack of social support, and bigger family. Data on differences on anxiety, depression and stress between women in different trimesters and postpartum are contradictory.

BACKGROUND: The number of infertile women has been increasing since 2015, with a 1015% increase in IVF cycles every year. The data on mental health of women using assisted reproductive technology are contradictory; there is little research on the dynamics of mental health outcomes from pregnancy to postpartum. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of mental health measures in the groups of pre- and postpartum women using assisted reproductive technology and to compare these groups with women who conceived spontaneously. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study had three stages: during pregnancy, within one month after delivery, and in four to nine months after childbirth, and included 59 women who used assisted reproductive technology (34.0 4.60 years old) and 85 women with natural pregnancy (30.6 4.39 years old). All the women had singleton, planned pregnancy, with the most of them at more than 20 weeks pregnant. Drop out within research stages was approximately 2030%. We used the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment, socio-demographic and obstetric data gathering, as well as a postpartum telephone interview. RESULTS: Women in the assisted reproductive technology group were less likely (р = 0.000) to attend or plan to attend childbirth preparation courses. In this study group, emergency (40%) and planned (26%) caesarean sections were used more often (p = 0.001); in 17% of cases, they gave birth before 37 weeks of gestation (vs. 1.9% in the group of women with natural pregnancy); and only 51% of women undergoing assisted reproductive technology used breast feeding (vs. 78% in the group of women with natural pregnancy). No significant differences in Apgar scores and the number of problems in childs health straight after the delivery were shown. In 49 months after the childs birth in the group of women using assisted reproductive technology, the number of somatic disorders was significantly higher (р = 0.046) compared to the group of women with natural pregnancy. The analysis of the dynamics of mental health measures revealed an increase of withdrawal (p = 0.010) and thought problems (p = 0.001) in the group of women using assisted reproductive technology. In the group of women with natural pregnancy, the analysis revealed a decrease in the number of mental health problems such as anxiety / depression, somatic problems, delinquent behavior, as well as DSM-associated anxiety disorder and avoidance (р 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mental health measures of women undergoing assisted reproductive technology, their dynamics after childbirth, the number of preterm births and cesarean sections, as well as feeding type altogether may be a risk factor for the mental health and development of the children. These women may require additional support.