PARENTAL PERINATAL DEPRESSION: EXPLORING THE INFLUENCES ON INFANTILE TEMPERAMENT AND MOTHER-INFANT FEEDING INTERACTION

Several studies investigated the impact of maternal depression on the child’s development, however few studies addressed the effects of the father’s depression on the mother-infant caregiving system and child development. The incidence of paternal perinatal depression ranges from 1 to 25% with an increasing rate if the mother is depressed too. We aimed to explore parental perinatal depression and their relations with child temperament and mother-child feeding interactions. The sample is composed by 43 first-time mothers (M=34 years, SD=4.86) and fathers (M=38 years, SD=5.46), and their 3/6 months old and full-term babies. At Time 1 (28th week of pregnancy), Time 2 (3 months of the baby), and Time 3 (six months of the baby) parents filled out the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. At Times 2 and 3, mothers and fathers completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, and mother-infant interactions were videotaped and coded through the Feeding Scale. Results showed a stability of parental depression over time, highlighting the importance to identify as early as possible the risks within parent-baby relationship. Correlations were found between mothers' higher depression scores, negative affective state during interactions at 3 months of the baby, child food refusal and mother-child interactional conflict at 6 months of the child. Indeed, the observation during breastfeeding is an important time to prevent early feeding disorder. The emergent weaning phase may lead to higher interactional conflict because of the lack of reciprocity within the dyad. Fathers’ higher depressive scores correlated with the mother-child interactional conflict. Finally, higher scores in parental depression correlated with infant negative emotionality that measures the frequency/intensity with which the infants experience sadness, frustration/anger, fear, and discomfort. It’s pivotal to identify early cumulative risks factors for the child’s development to enhance effective interventions. ©