Maternal depression and stress related to natural disasters can affect infant temperament

A new Infant Mental Health Journal A study shows that maternal prenatal depression has important consequences on infant temperament. In addition, the negative impact of the mother's prenatal depression seems to have been magnified when pregnant women survived superstorm Sandy.

The study badyzed data from 310 mother-child dyads, 64% of women being pregnant before Sandy and 36% during their pregnancy. Compared to other infants, infants born to women with prenatal depression were more likely to experience greater distress, greater fear, a smile and lower laughter, a lower search for pleasure up and down. , a lower ability to clean, a slower reactivity, less cuddling and more sadness at six months. These effects were magnified when the women were pregnant during the super-storm Sandy.

"The fetal period is one of the most critical periods for neurodevelopment." Prenatal stress, particularly during this critical period of fetal development, could make the developing brain more vulnerable to others. stressors such as maternal depression, "said Dr. Yoko Nomura, principal author of Queens College, the advanced scientific research center of the Graduate Center, CUNY and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "The frequency and magnitude of natural disasters can increase, but we can try to mitigate the negative impacts on offspring if we identify high-risk pregnant women with depression and offer interventions to make them more resilient ".

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Wiley