Effects of maternal postpartum depression in a well‐resourced sample: Early concurrent and long‐term effects on infant cognitive, language, and motor development

Abstract

This study examined early and long-term effects of maternal postpartum depression on cognitive, language, and motor development in infants of clinically depressed mothers. Participants were 83 mothers and their full-term born children from the urban region of Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this group, 28 mothers were diagnosed with postnatal depression three to four months postpartum in a diagnostic interview. Cognitive, language, and motor development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development third edition, when the infants were 4 and 13 months of age. We found that maternal postpartum depression was associated with poorer cognitive development at infant age four months, the effect size being large (Cohen's d = 0.8) and with similar effects for boys and girls. At 13 months of age infants of clinical mothers did not differ from infants of non-clinical mothers. At this time most (79%) of the clinical mothers were no longer, or not again, depressed. These results may indicate that maternal depression can have an acute, concurrent effect on infant cognitive development as early as at four months postpartum. At the same time, in the absence of other risk factors, this effect may not be enduring. The main weaknesses of the study include the relatively small sample size and that depression scores were only available for 35 of the non-clinical mothers at 13 months.

Associations Between Maternal Postpartum Depression, Infant Social Behavior With a Stranger, and Infant Cognitive Development

“…In a previous study using the same sample used in the current study (Smith‐Nielsen, Tharner, Krogh, & Vaever, ), we found that PPD was associated with lower infant cognitive scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition (Bayley‐III: Bayley, ) when the infants were 4 months old. We speculated that, rather than delayed cognitive development per se , this finding might be explained in terms of infant social withdrawal during the test situation, causing reduced interest in interaction with the tester and exploring the test objects.…”

“…All mothers gave informed written consent on behalf of themselves and their child at enrollment before any assessment or data collection. Sampling strategy is described in detail in Smith-Nielsen et al (2016). In short, control mothers (n = 41) were recruited via pregnancy-related web pages and included during pregnancy, and mothers with PPD (n = 28) were referred to the research unit by public home visitors based on routine screening for symptoms of depression.…”

Does maternal postpartum depression affect children's developmental outcomes?

“…The selected studies used these scales to measure gross and fine motor skill scores separately or a composite score as a combination of gross and fine motor skills. In the six studies that assessed children's neuromotor development with motor composite scores (gross and fine motor combined), all found no association between maternal PPD and the scores. However, considering an indication that gross motor skills develop earlier and more quickly than do fine motor skills, the separation of gross motor skills from fine motor skills is logical.…”

“…Nine studies have investigated the association between maternal PPD and children's neuromotor development (Tables and ) . Most of these studies used the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (the 2nd or 3rd editions) or the Mullen Scales of Early Learning: two of the most universally accepted, standardized instruments to measure children's gross (e.g.…”

Effects of an Online Mindfulness Intervention Focusing on Attention Monitoring and Acceptance in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…There is compelling evidence that maternal depression and anxiety are associated with adverse outcomes for women and their newborns, including premature birth, postpartum depression, prolonged labor, and low birth weight . These outcomes may have long‐term adverse implications for newborns, such as poorer cognitive development …”