Negative impact of maternal antenatal depressive symptoms on neonate's behavioral characteristics.

Prenatal maternal depression is associated with developmental disorders in offspring. However, the specific effects of the intensity of prenatal depressive symptoms on infant behavior remain poorly explored. The aim of this work is to explore the links between early neonatal behavior and maternal prenatal depressive symptoms, independently from maternal pre- and postnatal anxiety and early postnatal maternal depressive symptoms.

Evolution of perinatal depressive symptoms from pregnancy to two years postpartum in a low-risk sample: the MATQUID cohort.

Background: Few studies have explored the evolution of perinatal depressive symptoms (PNDS) throughout the perinatal period.

Aims: To evaluate in a low-risk sample, whether different evolutive profiles of PNDS exist from pregnancy to 2-years postpartum, and whether the subgroups differ regarding psychopathological and demographic characteristics.

Methods: In a prospective, longitudinal study from 8 months pregnancy to 2 years postpartum, repeated measures of PNDS using the CES-D were performed on a sample of 579 women at low-risk for PNDS.

A prospective longitudinal study of the impact of early postnatal vs. chronic maternal depressive symptoms on child development.

Background: Few studies of the effects of postnatal depression on child development have considered the chronicity of depressive symptoms. We investigated whether early postnatal depressive symptoms (PNDS) predicted child developmental outcome independently of later maternal depressive symptoms.

Methods: In a prospective, longitudinal study, mothers and children were followed-up from birth to 2 years; repeated measures of PNDS were made using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS); child development was assessed using the Bayley Scales II.

[Baby blues: characterization and influence of psycho-social factors].

Background: Within days following birth, most women are showing signs of mood changes, commonly named baby blues. Due to the frequency of this condition, baby blues is considered as a physiological state probably associated to biological modifications. Some studies have shown an existing link between the intensity of the baby blues and post-partum mood disorder.

Women with anxiety disorders during pregnancy are at increased risk of intense postnatal depressive symptoms: a prospective survey of the MATQUID cohort.

Objective: Studies have suggested that women with pregnancy anxiety may be at greater risk of postnatal depression (PND). However, due to the high comorbidity between anxiety and depressive disorders, this finding may be confounded by the association between prenatal depression and postnatal depression. The aim of the present prospective study was to assess whether anxiety disorder (AD) during pregnancy is an independent predictor of intensity of postnatal depressive symptoms.

[Attachment and suffering mothers].

Attachment between an infant and his/her parents is instinctive and vital for the psychoaffective development of the child. This process is fragile, and parents have to present with adaptive capacities. They need a good mental health to be able to welcome their child and to develop the interactions that will enable the baby to acquire an internal security.

Measurement of mother-infant interactions and the home environment in a European setting: preliminary results from a cross-cultural study.

Background: Infant development is adversely affected in the context of postnatal depression. This relationship may be mediated by both the nature of early mother-infant interactions and the quality of the home environment.

Aim: To establish the usefulness of the Global Ratings Scales of Mother-Infant Interaction and the Infant-Toddler version of the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (IT-HOME), and to test expected associations of the measures with characteristics of the social context and with major or minor depression.

Maternal attachment style and depression associated with childbirth: preliminary results from a European and US cross-cultural study.

Background: Insecure attachment style relates to major depression in women, but its relationship to depression associated with childbirth is largely unknown. A new UK-designed measure, the Attachment Style Interview (ASI), has potential for cross-cultural use as a risk marker for maternal disorder.

Aims: To establish there liability of the ASI across centres, its stability over a 9-month period, and its associations with social context and major or minor depression.

Contextual Assessment of the Maternity Experience: development of an instrument for cross-cultural research.

Background: There is evidence that stressors may trigger the onset of a depressive episode in vulnerable women. A new UK interview measure, the Contextual Assessment of the Maternity Experience (CAME), was designed to assess major risk factors for emotional disturbances, especially depression, during pregnancy and post-partum.

Aims: With in the context of a cross-cultural study, to establish the usefulness of the CAME, and to test expected associations of the measure with characteristics of the social context and with major or minor depression.

Obstetrical complications and the development of postpartum depressive symptoms: a prospective survey of the MATQUID cohort.

Objective: To prospectively investigate in a cohort of pregnant women the association between obstetrical complications (OCs) and depressive symptomatology in the early postpartum period.

Method: A total of 441 pregnant women attending the State Maternity Hospital in Bordeaux were interviewed during the third trimester of pregnancy, then at 3 days and 6 weeks after birth. Maternal depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).