Face Preferences for Infant- and Adult-Directed Speakers in Infants of Depressed and Nondepressed Mothers: Association with Infant Cognitive Development.

Face preferences for speakers of infant-directed and adult-directed speech (IDS and ADS) were investigated in 4- to 13.5-month-old infants of depressed and non-depressed mothers. Following 1-min of exposure to an ID or AD speaker (order counterbalanced), infants had an immediate paired-comparison test with a still, silent image of the familiarized versus a novel face.

Altered stress patterns and increased risk for postpartum depression among low-income pregnant women.

Postpartum depression (PPD) has been associated with a number of negative maternal and infant health outcomes. Despite these adverse health effects, few studies have prospectively examined patterns of pre- and postnatal stress that may increase a woman's risk for PPD. The current study examined whether the timing of altered salivary cortisol patterns and perceived stress levels during pregnancy and at 3 months postpartum was associated with PPD symptoms among 100 low-income mothers.