Are mental disorders found in pregnant mothers linked to problems in the baby’s development?

Mothers and their babies have significant emotional bonds even before the child is born – mothers will often read or sing to their babies before they are born. Babies become accustomed to their mother’s voice and therefore a small bond is already formed. Recently, a different kind of connection between mothers and their babies has been studied: the effects of a mother’s mental health during pregnancy on the mental and socio-emotional development of her baby in its first year.

A study done in Portugal published in 2012 studied babies’ emotional development within the first year of their lives when their mothers have one or more common mental disorders. Two hundred and four pregnant women were recruited from a hospital obstetrics department in their third trimester and their babies were tested at 3.5 and 12 months old.

The researchers used a series of diagnostic tests, including the Clinical Evaluation of Depression (CED) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), to identify symptoms of psychopathology in the pregnant women. The BSI evaluates symptoms of somatisation, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism, while the CED tests how well the mother functions in relation to work, cognition, and interpersonal relationships on a scale of four levels of severity. Next, the mental development of the infant at 3.5 and 12 months was evaluated. Socio-emotional development was also assessed at 12 months.

The research found that 27.5% of the women tested positive for diagnosable psychopathology with the Brief Symptom Inventory. 19.1% of the women were depressed according to the Inventory of the Clinical Evaluation of Depression. The results showed that the babies of women who showed symptoms of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and psychoticism had lower mental development scores at 3.5 months, including personal-social, performance, global scale, and hand-eye coordination.

Furthermore, babies of depressed or hostile mothers had lower mean scores in global mental development and personal-social relationships at 12 months. Additionally, the results showed that 20 babies who showed significant emotional issues all had mothers with diagnosable psychopathology, showing that these infants’ social and behavioral development was hindered.

Although not many studies have been done about this correlation and there were some limitations, such as small sample size and psychopathology symptom data was self-reported was by the mothers so bias might be present, this particular research does raise very notable points. The study was done in Portugal, but this should be looked into internationally, as there are pregnant women everywhere who may want to consider this research in regards to the development of their infants. The fact that so many of these pregnant women tested positive for psychopathology is also noteworthy. Does the hormonal changes and high levels of stress during pregnancy account for the changes in mothers’ mental stability? It is hard to tell within this study because the women were not tested prior to pregnancy for psychological disorders. Moreover, these tests should be consistently done in obstetrics and gynecology departments to ensure the best care for the mother and child.

Furthermore, some psychological disorders that persist after the mother births the baby can take a toll on the development of the infant. People who suffer from depression are often less motivated, concentrated, and focused. As some researched have suggested that depressed mothers may hold their baby less; therefore, the intimacy between mother and child is lacking and the infant’s mental, social, and behavioral development may suffer. Also, mothers who experience the effects of anxiety and depression may turn to alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism, which can have an impact on the developing child. It can cause neglect and ruin motherly bonds; thus, affecting the child emotionally and even socially and behaviorally. In addition, the results showed that an infant’s mental development may be inhibited in specific areas such as hand-eye coordination, personal-social, locomotor, and performance when their mothers experience symptoms of certain mental illnesses. This also becomes a larger problem for the child as it grows neurologically because it puts it at a higher predisposition for psychological problems as well. Genetics is an important factor in the presence of mental illness.

It is important to have these sorts of tests done on pregnant mothers because the earlier these issues are detected, the better chance the child will have at developing at a normal and healthy rate and long-term problems, for the mother and child alike, can be eliminated or at least better controlled. The interpersonal and emotional aspects of pregnancy are very significant and need to be examined along with the medical ones. Additionally, tests should be done for children past their first-year of life in order to investigate long-term consequences and how their development progresses.

Ultimately, babies who scored higher in most of the subscales for mental development had mothers who tested negative for diagnosable psychopathology. These mothers were connected more intimately, sensitively, and emotionally with their infant. This created a nurturing environment that promoted healthy and consistent development.

This study is relevant to mothers, obstetrics and gynecology doctors, and psychologists alike. The researchers claim, “The identification of patterns of psychopathology in women during pregnancy may provide an important opportunity to begin a program of support for these women in order to optimze the mother-baby relationship, and, consequently the mental development of their children.” 

Citation (APA): Almeida, C. d., Sá, E., Cunha, F. F., & Pires, E. P. (2012). Common Mental Disorders During Pregnancy and Baby’s Development in the First Year of Life. Journal Of Reproductive & Infant Psychology, 30(4), 341-351. doi:10.1080/02646838.2012.736689

Is Breast Best for Intelligence?

Is there really evidence that breastfeeding is really the best when it comes to making babies smarter? In Brazil, one study done with 3,500 babies confirmed many beliefs about the benefits of breastfeeding. Babies that were breastfed for at least 12 months had a higher IQ, stayed in school longer, and had an overall higher income than those that were bottle-fed. Since there are a number of positive outcomes associated with breastfeeding, it is crucial that parents know these advantages. Health psychology researcher Eleanor Orlander, a Lecturer in Maternal and Child Health at City University London, said that better breastfeeding education is necessary to encourage more mothers to breastfeed. If a mother is aware of the demonstrated physical and cognitive benefits, she will have a more favorable attitude toward breastfeeding and will be more likely to stick with the process. However, while a mother may know the benefits of breastfeeding, there are many factors that can dissuade a mother from breastfeeding, including embarrassment or physical complications birth difficulties. To help encourage women in breastfeeding, Dr. Olander said that midwives can play an important role by promoting the advantages of breastfeeding, showing women how to breastfeed, and also understanding the women’s individual circumstances to provide woman-centred care.

However, other researchers doubt the strength of the observed benefits between breastfeeding and intelligence. A major problem with the research on breastfeeding and intelligence is that intelligence is also largely heritable, meaning that it is due to genetics rather than environment. Dr. Stuart Richie, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Cognitive Ageing at the University of Edinburgh, argues that most of the previous research done has not taken into account the effect of genes on the relationship: “To get around this problem, you can do one of two things; control for parental levels of intelligence, or compare siblings or twins within the same family to control for genetics. The authors of this study didn’t do either of these things in the paper, so we can’t know whether or not the apparent effect of breastfeeding on intelligence is just due to smarter parents tending to breastfeed more, for whatever reason.” Previous research that did use these controls has found no positive effects of breastfeeding.

Overall, until more experimental research is done, mothers should continue to do what they feel is necessary for them and their child, acknowledging the potential benefits but also noting the lack of definitive and conclusive research.

Children's Biases on Sharing

Previous research looking at young children’s sharing behaviors has found that they are surprisingly sophisticated in their decisions on who to share with: they share more with those who need more, prefer to share with friends over enemies, and also share in order to gain a higher social status.  However, which of these three factors is most important in children’s decision of who to share with: fairness, favoritism, or self-servitude? A recent study by Markus Paulus, Professor of Developmental Psychology and the Psychology of Learning in Early Childhood at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet ("Friendship Wins out over Fairness.") published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology suggests that friendship takes priority over the needs of a stranger or that of an adversary.

In order to determine the predominant motivator, Paulus performed a myriad of experiments using stickers as a form of value. Children between the ages of 3-6 years old were asked to give stickers to either a friend who already had 100 stickers or to a child they did not like to play with who only had three. Most of the children shared stickers with their friend, even though the other child had less. This showed that friendship carried more weight than need in the eyes of a child.

In another experiment, children were asked to allot stickers between a friend who had plenty, and a stranger who only had a few. Once again, the children gave more to the friend than the stranger. However, in a final study, children favored sharing with a stranger over a child they did not like, showing that familiarity was not a necessary condition for sharing and that even a stranger is a better option than someone they do not get along with socially.

Most adults would normally want to help someone who was in need, whether they were their friend or not. Paulus’ experiments have brought great insight into the development of sharing during the age of kindergarten: children favor their friends over fairness. Given that forming friendships is a major milestone of this developmental period, this research highlights that social impulses are more important than fairness during the early childhood stages. For parents trying to teach fairness, they may be frustrated by their child’s seemingly “mean” behavior, but this research shows that favoring social relationships is a normal focus of this developmental stage.

Does co-sleeping increase the risk of SIDS?

SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome) is a sad and heartbreaking experience for any new mother. Imagine the joy of having a new baby only to lose it so tragically and unexpectedly. In the recent research article, “Autopsy findings of co-sleeping-associated sudden unexpected deaths in infancy: Relationship between pathological features and asphyxial mode of death”, Dr. Weber and colleagues highlight research done on the relationship between SIDS and asphyxial modes of death. (Weber, Risdon, Ashworth, Malone, & Sebire, 2011). Specifically, the researchers ask whether co-sleeping, where a parent sleeps with their infant, increases the risk of SIDS. In this study done over the course of 10 years in the U.K, autopsies were done on infants that had died of SIDS to see if they could find any causal factors, including co-sleeping.

The researchers did find that co-sleeping led to a 10% increase in a child’s risk of developing SIDS in comparison to infants that were not co-sleeping.  However, the relationship between SIDS and co-sleeping only seems to appear in the first 5 months of life. After the age of 5 months, there seems to be no difference between those babies that were introduced to co-sleeping and those that were not in terms of their SIDS risk.

Overall, co-sleeping can be said to be risky with babies under the age of 5 months, but after that there is no real differences between babies that were introduced to co-sleeping and those that were not. There are also other problems with co-sleeping that can have a big impact on the baby's health as well. Overall, the suggestion from these researchers is that if you’re going to co-sleep with your baby, wait until they are over 5 months old.

Weber, M. A., Risdon, R. A., Ashworth, M. T., Malone, M., & Sebire, N. J. (2012). Autopsy findings of co‐sleeping‐associated sudden unexpected deaths in infancy: Relationship between pathological features and asphyxial mode of death. Journal Of Paediatrics And Child Health, 48(4), 335-341. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2011.02228.x