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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
The impact of maternal depression and personality disorder on early infant care
Susan Conroy1, Maureen N Marks, Robin Schacht
1PO71, Section of Perinatal Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK. s.conroy@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Aim:
Previous studies have reported detrimental effects of maternal depression on infant care but have not taken into account the potential confounding effects of co-morbid personality disorder. We aimed to examine the independent effects of maternal depression and personality disorder on infant care.
Method:
Assessments with 200 mothers who had a diagnosis of depression, personality disorder, both conditions, or neither condition, when their infants were aged 2 months, included structured clinical interviews, an interview about infant care practices, and standardised measures of quality of the home environment, maternal involvement with the baby, maternal sensitivity and infant irritability.
Results:
The presence of depression and personality disorder had significant independent detrimental effects on infant care practices and maternal involvement with the baby, while depression alone had a negative effect on quality of the home environment.
Conclusion:
Women with depression are less likely to use recommended infant care practices only when they also meet criteria for co-morbid personality disorder. Professionals working with women and babies need to consider the particular difficulties that mothers with both personality disorder and depression may have in providing satisfactory infant care.
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