Disruption to the development of maternal sensitivity: the impact of depression and alcohol use during pregnancy on mother-infant interactions.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Community-Based Medicine
Abstract
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Organisations
Publications
Pearson RM
(2011)
The association between observed non-verbal maternal responses at 12 months and later infant development at 18 months and IQ at 4 years: a longitudinal study.
in Infant behavior & development
Pearson RM
(2012)
The impact of alcohol use during pregnancy on maternal responses after birth.
in Archives of women's mental health
Pearson RM
(2012)
Disruption to the development of maternal responsiveness? The impact of prenatal depression on mother-infant interactions.
in Infant behavior & development
Rebecca Pearson (Speaker)
(2011)
Disruption to the development of maternal sensitivity : the impact of depression during pregnancy on mother-infant interactions
| Description | Reduced maternal responsiveness in depressed mothers may explain the negative impact of depression on child development. Antenatal depression is also associated with poor child development, independently of later depression. However, the mechanism to explain this is unclear. One explanation is that antenatal depression leads to poorer child outcomes by disrupting the preparation of maternal responsiveness to infants as it develops during pregnancy. We used longitudinal data from a UK cohort study (ALSPAC), to investigate whether antenatal depression is associated with reduced maternal responsiveness, independently of depression close to the time maternal responsiveness was measured. The study included measurements of antenatal and postnatal depression and an observation of the mother interacting with their infant at 12 months. The complete case sample comprised 875 mother-infant pairs. Women with high depression scores during mid pregnancy, even if they had low scores at the time of the maternal responsiveness measurement, had reduced maternal responsiveness compared to women with consistently low depression. The results suggest that antenatal depression may disrupt the development of maternal responsiveness. Therefore, maternal responsiveness remains impaired in antenatally depressed women even if their depression improved. Due to the importance of maternal responsiveness for child development, we investigated other exposures during mid pregnancy that may disrupt its development. We found that women who drank >=1 glass of alcohol a week during pregnancy showed reduced maternal responsiveness after birth. This study provides evidence that factors during pregnancy can effect later responsiveness of a mother to their infant. |
| Exploitation Route | Further research into the antenatal development of maternal sensitivity. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Description | Disruption to the development of maternal responsiveness? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion of findings at Oxford University seminar series, Department of Psychiatry, April 2011 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | |