TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of maternal postpartum depression in a well-resourced sample

T2 - Early concurrent and long-term effects on infant cognitive, language, and motor development

AU - Smith-Nielsen, Johanne

AU - Tharner, Anne

AU - Krogh, Marianne Thode

AU - Væver, Mette Skovgaard

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - This study examined early and long-term effects of maternal postpartum depression on cognitive, language, and motor development in infants of clinicallydepressed mothers. Participants were 83 mothers and their full-term born children from the urban region of Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this group, 28mothers 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.

AB - This study examined early and long-term effects of maternal postpartum depression on cognitive, language, and motor development in infants of clinicallydepressed mothers. Participants were 83 mothers and their full-term born children from the urban region of Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this group, 28mothers 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.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Maternal postpartum depression

KW - infant; cognitive, language, and motor development

KW - Maternal postpartum depression

KW - concurrent effects

KW - long-term effects

KW - infant

KW - cognitive

KW - language

KW - motor development

U2 - 10.1111/sjop.12321

DO - 10.1111/sjop.12321

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27611177

VL - 57

SP - 571

EP - 583

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

SN - 0036-5564

IS - 6

ER -