Interventions with depressed mothers and their infants: modifying interactive behaviours

Area of Science:

• Perinatal mental health
• Infant-parent interaction
• Developmental psychology

Background:

• Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 3-30% of mothers, impacting infant development.
• Previous interventions targeting maternal mood have not improved mother-infant interactions.
• The Keys to Caregiving (KTC) program aims to enhance infant positive affect by improving parental responsiveness to infant cues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot the Keys to Caregiving (KTC) intervention for mothers with mild to moderate postpartum depression (PPD).
• To assess the intervention's effect on mother-infant face-to-face interactions and infant emotional expression.

Main Methods:

• PPD was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Beck Depression Inventory.
• Eleven mother-infant dyads participated in 5 weekly KTC group sessions.
• Infant emotional responses were analyzed using the Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Infants showed significantly increased expressions of Interest and Joy during face-to-face interactions post-intervention.
• Maternal depression ratings did not significantly change following the KTC intervention.
• Infant emotional expressivity improved despite unchanged maternal mood scores.

Conclusions:

• The KTC intervention shows promise in enhancing infant positive responsiveness.
• Focusing on maternal behaviors and infant interaction, rather than solely maternal mood, may be effective for improving infant outcomes in PPD.
• This pilot study provides a foundation for a larger trial investigating KTC's efficacy in treating mothers with postpartum depression.