Beyond the dyad: the role of mother and father in newborns’ global DNA methylation during the first month of life—a pilot study

Abstract

The study aimed to longitudinally explore the effects of parental prenatal attachment and psychopathological symptomatology on neonatal global DNA methylation (5‐mC) variation between birth and the first month of life. Eighteen mothers and thirteen fathers were assessed before childbirth (t0) by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Prenatal‐Attachment Inventory, and Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale; 48 hr after childbirth (t1) by SCL‐90‐R; and one month after childbirth (t2) by PSS. At t1 and t2, buccal swabs from parents and newborns were collected. In newborns’ 5‐mC and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of DAT, MAOA, BDNF, and 5‐HTTLPR genes were detected, while in parents only SNPs were measured. At t1, newborns’ 5‐mC was negatively associated with maternal psychopathological symptoms, while at t2, newborns’ 5‐mC was positively associated with paternal psychopathological symptoms and negatively with paternal prenatal attachment. The variation of newborns’ 5‐mC from t1 to t2 was predicted by paternal psychopathological symptoms. No significant correlations among parental SNPs and 5‐mC levels were found. Results highlight parent‐specific influences on newborn's DNA methylation. At birth, maternal psychological symptoms seem to have an effect on newborns’ 5‐mC, while after one month of life, paternal psychological characteristics could have a specific role in modulating the newborns’ epigenetic responses to the environment.

Fathers, families, and physiology: Exploring the psychobiological context of fathering

“…Pellicano et al. (2021) examined epigenetic effects in infants and found maternal and paternal reports of psychopathological symptoms were associated with infant methylation profiles but that the timing of the effects differed between mothers and fathers. Greater maternal psychopathology was associated with higher infant DNA methylation at birth and paternal psychopathology with higher DNA methylation when infants were 1 month old.…”