Heidelberg University, Department of Psychology, Developmental and Biological Psychology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany.
Heidelberg University, Department of Psychology, Developmental and Biological Psychology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 2024 Feb 1;346:144-153. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.035. Epub 2023 Oct 12.
Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression are highly prevalent during pregnancy and postpartum and have the potential to impact fetal development and offspring behavior. However, research on the effects of fetal exposure to maternal subclinical affective symptoms on infant self-regulation is still lacking. Self-regulation provides a fundamental precondition for healthy development and overall life success whereas dysfunctional self-regulation can lead to behavioral problems, poor academic achievement, social rejection, and physical/mental disorders. During pregnancy and infancy, children largely depend upon their mothers in order to successfully regulate their internal states. Given the high prevalence of mothers suffering from anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after childbirth, the aim of the present study is to explore how maternal affective symptoms change during the pre- and postnatal period, and how measures obtained in pregnancy and beyond impact self-regulation in infants, as indicated by crying-, sleeping-, and/or feeding problems.
This prospective longitudinal study investigates the effects of maternal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-specific anxiety on infant's self-regulation in N = 225 mother-infant dyads. Maternal affective symptoms were examined at five prenatal and three postnatal time-points using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire Revised (PRAQ-R2). Infant's self-regulation was assessed twice - at the age of three and six months - using the Crying Feeding Sleeping Scale (SFS).
Maternal pregnancy-specific anxiety was the most significant predictor for infant self-regulatory problems. It predicted crying-, sleeping, and feeding problems and explained up to 18 % of the variance. Even when controlling for maternal postpartum affective symptoms, pregnancy-specific anxiety remained a significant predictor for infant self-regulation problems.
Rather homogenous sample (high socioeconomic status). Data based on maternal reports of infant behavior.
Our results suggest that fetal exposure to maternal affective symptoms - specifically pregnancy-related anxiety - plays a substantial role in the development of infant self-regulation problems, potentially mediated by epigenetic modifications. Importantly, even though maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety only reached subclinical levels, they were predictive for infant crying-, sleeping-, and feeding problems. Our findings underline the importance of early prevention and clearly tailored interventions during pregnancy and postpartum to prevent adverse outcome for mother, child and family.
孕妇和产后的焦虑和抑郁症状普遍存在，可能会影响胎儿的发育和后代的行为。然而，关于胎儿暴露于母体亚临床情感症状对婴儿自我调节的影响的研究仍然缺乏。自我调节为健康发展和整体生活成功提供了基本前提，而功能失调的自我调节会导致行为问题、学业成绩不佳、社会排斥和身心障碍。在怀孕和婴儿期，儿童主要依靠母亲来成功调节他们的内部状态。鉴于怀孕期间和分娩后患有焦虑和抑郁症状的母亲人数众多，本研究旨在探讨母亲在产前和产后期间的情感症状如何变化，以及在怀孕期间和之后获得的措施如何影响婴儿的自我调节，表现为哭泣、睡眠和/或喂养问题。
本前瞻性纵向研究调查了 225 例母婴对子中抑郁、焦虑和妊娠特异性焦虑的母亲症状对婴儿自我调节的影响。使用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）、状态-特质焦虑量表（STAI）和修订后的妊娠相关焦虑问卷（PRAQ-R2）在五个产前和三个产后时间点检查母亲的情感症状。使用哭泣喂养睡眠量表（SFS）两次评估婴儿的自我调节 - 在三个月和六个月大时。
母亲的妊娠特异性焦虑是婴儿自我调节问题的最显著预测因素。它预测了哭泣、睡眠和喂养问题，并解释了高达 18%的方差。即使在控制了母亲产后的情感症状后，妊娠特异性焦虑仍然是婴儿自我调节问题的重要预测因素。
样本相当同质（高社会经济地位）。基于母亲对婴儿行为的报告的数据。
我们的研究结果表明，胎儿暴露于母体情感症状 - 特别是妊娠相关焦虑 - 在婴儿自我调节问题的发展中起着重要作用，这可能是通过表观遗传修饰介导的。重要的是，即使母亲的抑郁和焦虑症状仅达到亚临床水平，它们也可以预测婴儿的哭泣、睡眠和喂养问题。我们的研究结果强调了在怀孕和产后早期进行预防和明确针对母亲、儿童和家庭的干预措施的重要性，以防止不良后果。
