Antenatal depression and maternal infant directed speech during the first postnatal year

Antenatal depression is emerging as a potential risk factor for lower maternal sensitivity during postnatal mother-infant interactions. The present study investigated the relationship between both antenatal and postnatal depression and features of infant directed speech, a key indicator of maternal sensitivity during the first postnatal year.

Pregnant women with either a clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive disorder (MDD; n = 20) or a history of MDD (n = 26) and a control group (n = 34) were recruited to the study and followed up at two, six and twelve months postpartum. A free-play mother-infant interaction was recorded at each time-point and the lexical and syntactic complexity of the mothers' speech was measured from the transcript.

No significant group differences were observed at either two, six or twelve months. However, mediation analyses indicated that antenatal depression was indirectly associated with maternal syntactic complexity at two and twelve months through concurrent maternal depression scores.

The findings of this study are limited by its small sample size. The sample also comprised predominantly well-resourced women which limits the generalisability of the findings to wider or less advantaged populations.

This study contributes to the emerging evidence base concerning the impact of antenatal depression and postnatal depression on early mother-infant interactive behaviour, specifically infant-directed speech. These findings further highlight the importance of identifying women with antenatal depression in order to support them to engage in therapeutic interventions at the earliest possible opportunity.