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Updated: Nov 15, 2025

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Role of Maternal Depression on Child Development: A Prospective Analysis from Pregnancy to Early Childhood

Guido G Urizar1, Ricardo F Muñoz2

  • 1Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840-0901, USA. guido.urizar@csulb.edu.

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|March 1, 2021
PubMed

Few studies have examined how different characteristics of maternal depression may be associated with developmental outcomes among low-income children. The current study prospectively examined whether the timing (pregnancy vs. early postpartum), severity, and chronicity of maternal depression were associated with child cognitive and social-emotional development in two cohorts of primarily low-income Latinx immigrant mothers and their children. Maternal depression was assessed during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. Child development was assessed up to 5 years postpartum. Results showed that maternal depression experienced during pregnancy was associated with lower child cognitive development, particularly among girls. Additionally, both the timing (pregnancy and early postpartum) and severity/chronicity of maternal depression were each independently associated with lower child social-emotional development. These findings highlight the need for early prevention interventions to help offset the adverse effects of maternal depression on child developmental outcomes in this at-risk population.

Keywords:
Cognitive developmentDepressionMothersPerinatalSocial-emotional development

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