Emotional-cognitive differences during pregnancy: Adaptations for motherhood

Emerging research suggests that unique adaptations in emotional cognition prepare pregnant women for motherhood. This study compared emotional-cognitive responses to infant stimuli in 44 pregnant and 34 non-pregnant Danish participants and explored associations with postpartum outcomes in pregnant participants. Emotional-cognitive responses included facial expressions, skin conductance responses, visual attention, and emotional ratings of multi-modal infant stimuli, including virtual reality. Postpartum outcomes were assessed with questionnaires covering maternal well-being, bonding, reflective functioning, and emotional responses during their own infant cries. Pregnant participants exhibited higher skin conductance responses, more positive facial expressions, and less negative self-reported emotional reactions to infant stimuli compared to non-pregnant participants, with no differences in visual attention. More positive facial expressions to infant faces and vocalizations among pregnant may reflect an adaptive maternal positivity bias, because it correlated with better maternal bonding to their own infant at six months postpartum. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, which makes it difficult to determine whether group differences are pregnancy-driven adaptations, as opposed to findings from alternative longitudinal designs. Nevertheless, the observed differences and positive associations with maternal outcomes are consistent with previous studies, suggesting that pregnancy involves emotional-cognitive adaptations that support the transition to motherhood.