The Impact of Postnatal Depression and Associated Adversity on Early Mother-Infant Interactions and Later Infant Outcome

Abstract

The impact of maternal depression and adversity on mother-infant face-to-face interactions at 2 months, and on subsequent infant cognitive development and attachment, was examined in a low-risk sample of primiparous women and their infants. The severe disturbances in mother-infant engagement characteristic of depressed groups in disadvantaged populations were not evident in the context of postpartum mood disorder in the present study. However, compared to well women, depressed mothers were less sensitively attuned to their infants, and were less affirming and more negating of infant experience. Similar difficulties in maternal interactions were also evident in the context of social and personal adversity. Disturbances in early mother-infant interactions were found to be predictive of poorer infant cognitive outcome at 18 months. Infant attachment, by contrast, was not related to the quality of 2-month interactions, but was significantly associated with the occurrence of adversity, as well as postpartum depression.

Infant face interest is associated with voice information and maternal psychological health

“…The relationship between maternal mood and the mother-infant relationship has been well documented in samples of mothers with PND (e.g., Murray et al, 1996;Taylor et al, 2005). However, the current findings suggest that even small differences in maternal mood are associated in differences of perceived mother-infant attachment.…”

“…The drive to engage in rewarding social interactions may explain the association between maternal psychological health and infant face interest. Social interactions between infants and their mothers may be impaired if mothers report maternal mood symptoms (e.g., Beebe, Badalamenti, Jaffe, Feldstein, Marquette, Helbraun et al, 2008;Edhborg et al, 2001;Field, Healy, Goldstein, Perry, Bendell, Schanberg et al, 1988;Murray et al, 1996) and this may, therefore, drive infants to seek rewarding social interactions from others. Thus, we speculate infants of mothers with maternal mood symptoms might increase attention to faces paired with voices in order to facilitate a social interaction with their mother and stranger, the drive for which is not present when faces are presented alone.…”

“…Moreover, multimodal features such as voice information interact with maternal psychological health and infant face interest across age. One potential reason for the association between maternal psychological health and infant face interest may be to enable infants to facilitate rewarding social interactions which may be impaired between infants and their mothers if mothers report maternal mood symptoms (e.g., Beebe et al, 2001;Edhborg et al, 2001;Field et al, 1988;Murray et al, 1996). Understanding how attention to faces changes as a function of age and experience early on in development may also be important for investigating the link between maternal psychological health and infant cognitive development (e.g., Beck, 1998).…”

“…Moreover, the mother-infant relationship is affected by maternal symptoms of PTSD (Davies, Slade, Wright & Stewart, 2008;McDonald, Slade, Spiby & Iles, 2011) and PND (Edhborg, Lundh, Seimyr & Widstorm, 2001;Murray, 1992;Murray, Fiori-Cowley, Hooper & Cooper, 1996;Taylor, Atkins, Kumar, Adams & Glover, 2005). Thus, it is important to consider the role of a variety of maternal emotional responses, in relation to infant face interest, within general community samples.…”

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Postpartum Depression Care Among Low-Income Women

“…However, detection and treatment rates for this condition are low (6–8), particularly among high-risk women (9). Untreated postpartum depression can have severe impacts on the health and well-being of the affected woman and her family, including long-term consequences for the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development of her child (10–13). …”