Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal Affective Illness in the Perinatal Period and Child Development: Findings on Developmental Timing, Mechanisms, and Intervention

  • Women’s Mental Health (CN Epperson, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Maternal mental illness is one of the most reliable risks for clinically significant child adjustment difficulties. The research literature in this area is very large and broad and dates back decades. In this review, we consider recent research findings on maternal mental illness and child development by focusing particularly on affective illness the perinatal period. We do this because maternal affective illness in the perinatal period is common; recent evidence suggests that pre- and postpartum maternal depression may have lasting effects on child behavioral and somatic health; research in the perinatal period raises acute and compelling questions about mechanisms of transmission and effect; and perinatal-focused interventions may offer distinct advantages for benefitting mother and child and gaining insights into developmental mechanisms. Throughout the review, we attend to the increasing integration of psychological and biological models and the trans-disciplinary approach now required for clinical investigation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. Goodman SH, Gotlib IH. Risk for psychopathology in the children of depressed mothers: a developmental model for understanding mechanisms of transmission. Psychol Rev. 1999;106(3):458–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Tronick EZ, Field T. Maternal depression and infant disturbance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cogill SR et al. Impact of maternal postnatal depression on cognitive development of young children. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1986;292(6529):1165–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gluckman P, Hanson M. The fetal matrix: evolution, development, and disease. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Dantzer B et al. Density triggers maternal hormones that increase adaptive offspring growth in a wild mammal. Science. 2013;340(6137):1215–7. An impressive demonstration, in a naturalistic setting, of how prenatal stress alters maternal hormonal mileau with implications for reproduction.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. O'Hara MW, Swain A. Rates and risk of postpartum depression—a meta-analysis. Int Rev Psychiatry. 1996;8:37–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gavin NI et al. Perinatal depression: a systematic review of prevalence and incidence. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;106(5 Pt 1):1071–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Robertson E et al. Antenatal risk factors for postpartum depression: a synthesis of recent literature. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2004;26(4):289–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Mehta D. et al. Early predictive biomarkers for postpartum depression point to a role for estrogen receptor signaling. Psychol Med. 2014:1–14.

  10. Schiller CE, Meltzer-Brody S, Rubinow DR. The role of reproductive hormones in postpartum depression. CNS Spectr. 2015;20(1):48–59. A consideration of some of the classic findings on mechanisms of postpartum depression associated with estrogen and other leading candidates.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Molyneaux E et al. Obesity and mental disorders during pregnancy and postpartum: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123(4):857–67.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ovesen P, Rasmussen S, Kesmodel U. Effect of prepregnancy maternal overweight and obesity on pregnancy outcome. Obstet Gynecol. 2011;118(2 Pt 1):305–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Sebire NJ et al. Maternal obesity and pregnancy outcome: a study of 287,213 pregnancies in London. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001;25(8):1175–82.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gademan MG et al. Maternal prepregnancy BMI and lipid profile during early pregnancy are independently associated with offspring’s body composition at age 5–6 years: the ABCD study. PLoS One. 2014;9(4):e94594.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Krakowiak P et al. Maternal metabolic conditions and risk for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Pediatrics. 2012;129(5):e1121–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Murray L et al. Maternal postnatal depression and the development of depression in offspring up to 16 years of age. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;50(5):460–70. A longer-term extension of one of the leading studies of maternal postpartum depression and child development.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Bagner DM et al. Effect of maternal depression on child behavior: a sensitive period? J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010;49(7):699–707.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Naicker K, Wickham M, Colman I. Timing of first exposure to maternal depression and adolescent emotional disorder in a national Canadian cohort. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33422.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Kurstjens S, Wolke D. Effects of maternal depression on cognitive development of children over the first 7 years of life. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2001;42(5):623–36.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Copher DE, Huber CP. Heart rate response of the human fetus to induced maternal hypoxia. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1967;98(3):320–35.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. DiPietro JA et al. Fetal responses to induced maternal relaxation during pregnancy. Biol Psychol. 2008;77(1):11–9.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. DiPietro JA et al. Developmental of fetal movement—fetal heart rate coupling from 20 weeks through term. Early Hum Dev. 1996;44:139–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Conde A et al. Mother’s anxiety and depression and associated risk factors during early pregnancy: effects on fetal growth and activity at 20–22 weeks of gestation. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2010;31(2):70–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Emory EK, Dieter JN. Maternal depression and psychotropic medication effects on the human fetus. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006;1094:287–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Monk C. et al. Effects of maternal breathing rate, psychiatric status, and cortisol on fetal heart rate. Dev Psychobiol. 2010:p. n-a-n/a.

  26. DiPietro JA et al. Fetal heart rate and variability: stability and prediction to developmental outcomes in early childhood. Child Dev. 2007;78(6):1788–98.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. DiPietro JA et al. Prenatal antecedents of newborn neurological maturation. Child Dev. 2010;81(1):115–30.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Werner A et al. Prenatal predictors of infant temperament. Dev Psychobiol. 2007;49:474–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Sandman CA et al. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone and fetal responses in human pregnancy. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;897:66–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Monk C et al. The effects of women’s stress-elicited physiological activity and chronic anxiety on fetal heart rate. Dev Behav Pediatr. 2003;24(1):32–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. O'Donnell KJ et al. Maternal prenatal anxiety and downregulation of placental 11beta-HSD2. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012;37(6):818–26. Some of the only human evidence that maternal anxiety may alter specific placental mechanisms relevant for fetal programming.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Van den Bergh BR, Marcoen A. High antenatal maternal anxiety is related to ADHD symptoms, externalizing problems, and anxiety in 8- and 9-year-olds. Child Dev. 2004;75(4):1085–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. O'Donnell KJ et al. The persisting effect of maternal mood in pregnancy on childhood psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol. 2014;26(2):393–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. O'Donnell KJ et al. Prenatal maternal mood is associated with altered diurnal cortisol in adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013;38(9):1630–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. O'Connor TG et al. Prenatal maternal anxiety predicts reduced adaptive immunity in infants. Brain Behav Immun. 2013;32:21–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. O'Donnell KJ et al. Maternal prenatal anxiety and child brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genotype: effects on internalizing symptoms from 4 to 15 years of age. Dev Psychopathol. 2014;26(4 Pt 2):1255–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Gustafson KM et al. Fetal cardiac autonomic control during breathing and non-breathing epochs: the effect of maternal exercise. Early Hum Dev. 2012;88(7):539–46.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. O'Connor TG, Monk C, Fitelson EM. Practitioner review: maternal mood in pregnancy and child development—implications for child psychology and psychiatry. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014;55(2):99–111.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Dennis CL, Creedy D. Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;4:CD001134.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Dennis CL, Dowswell T. Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;2:CD001134.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Stuart S, Koleva H. Psychological treatments for perinatal depression. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014;28(1):61–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Forman DR. Effective treatment for postpartum depression is not sufficient to improve the developing mother-child relationship. Dev Psychopathol. 2007;19(2):585–602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Gunlicks ML, Weissman MM. Change in child psychopathology with improvement in parental depression: a systematic review. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008;47(4):379–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Bergman K et al. Maternal prenatal cortisol and infant cognitive development: moderation by infant-mother attachment. Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(11):1026–32.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper is supported by funding from NIMH grants MH073019, MH073842, and MH097293.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Wynne Center for Family Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Thomas G. O’Connor

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 West 168th Street, Suite 1540, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Catherine Monk

  3. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 West 168th Street, Suite 1540, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Catherine Monk

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Anne S. Burke

Authors
  1. Thomas G. O’Connor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Catherine Monk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anne S. Burke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas G. O’Connor.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Women’s Mental Health

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

O’Connor, T.G., Monk, C. & Burke, A.S. Maternal Affective Illness in the Perinatal Period and Child Development: Findings on Developmental Timing, Mechanisms, and Intervention. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 24 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0660-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0660-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation