Maternal patterns of antenatal and postnatal depressed mood and the impact on child health at 3-years postpartum.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The consequences of maternal depressed mood on children's growth, health, and cognitive and language development are examined over the first 3 years of life.

Method

Pregnant women in 24 periurban township neighborhoods in Cape Town, South Africa (N = 1,238 mothers) were randomized by neighborhood to a home visiting intervention or a standard care condition. Reassessments were conducted for 93%-85% of mothers at 2-weeks, 6-, 18-, and 36-months postbirth. Regressions were conducted on measures of children's growth, behavior, language, and cognition to examine the impact of four patterns of depressed mood: antenatal only (n = 154, 13.8%), postnatal only (n = 272, 24.3%), antenatal and postnatal (n = 220, 19.7%), and no depressed mood on any assessment (n = 473, 42.3%)

SUBMITTER: Rotheram-Fuller EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5842813 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature