perinatal health, parenthood, post partum distress

twenge et al (2003)

• parents experienced lower levels of relationship satisfaction than non parents

• parents of infant report lower levels of relationship quality than childless individuals, or parents of older children

• relationship quality was predicted by pre-pregnancy quality and duration, planned pregnancy, parent relationship status and mental health status

hamilton & lobel (2008)

women cope with stress more effectively during pregnancy

• use avoidant coping strategies less - avoidant coping strategies are associated with reduced preparation for parenting, bonding issues and less preventative healthcare

van de bergh (2005)

exposure to high levels of maternal stress can adversly impact fetal development, birth outcomes, and subsequent child and adult health outcomes

wilkinson (1999)

positive and negative mood states are significantly elevated in first 10 days after birth

gordon et al (2010)

homronal changes in parents during transition to parenthood dont exclusively reflect pregnancy

• mother and father may influence each others physiological reactions to pregnancy, childbirth and early caregiving

• mothers and fathers have similar physiological systems that respond to the experience of preparation of parenthood

increased levels of oxytocin predict increased…

• parent infant affection

• parent-infant gaze

• sensitive parenting

• secure attachment

hoekzema et al (2017)

from pregnancy to birth, there were reductions in gray matter volume in regions implicated in early caregiving, and also predicted maternal postnatal attachment

• reductions reflect synaptic pruning

kim et al (2010)

throughout postpartum, increasing grey matter volume in the same brain regions implicated in early caregiving

lambert and kinsley (2012) differences in parental (vs non) responses to own children (vs other infants)

involves specific regions in global parental caregiving network

• promotes empathy, mentalising and emotion regulation - required to understand and care for newborns

feldman (2015)

parental caregiving network is primed by oxytocin and prolactin, key pregnancy hormones

lambert and kinsley (2012)

hormonal characteristics of pregnancy and transition trigger unique neural pathways and responses, which support capacity to care successfully for infants

moses-kolko et al (2010)

depressed mothers show significantly less reactivity in response to fearful and angry faces than non-depressed mothers

feldman (2012)

postpartum depression may affect important circuits for sensitively responding to infant’s cues and developing secure mother-infant attachment relationships

luhman et al (2012)

new parent’s subjective wellbeing/overall life satisfaction is particularly high just after the birth but declines in the succeeding months

clark et al (2008)

significant decline in life satisfaction to below pre-pregnancy level, and stayed low for at least 4 years

dyrdal & lucas (2013)

found a return to pre-pregnancy levels of life satisfaction after 2 years

medina et al (2009)

sleep deprivation and disruption predicts greater negative mood and less positive mood, and can undermine cognitive functioning in ways that can undermine marital quality

kahn-greene et al (2006)

Overtired parents react more negatively to minor problems and brings weaker problem-solving skills and show more blaming responses to those problems

mchale et al (2004)

negative expectations of parenthood predict lower warmth between partners

caldwell et al (2021)

feelings of guilt and shame are able to predict postnatal depression and anxiety

• not yet been assessed in context of infant feeding

king et al (2010)

woman across all types of high risk pregnancy have higher levels of depression and anxiety, but have same levels of cortisol as healthy pregnant controls

• perceived high stress of high risk pregnancy may contribute to onset of symptoms of anxiety and depression

martinez-garcia et al (2021)

grey matter reduction in brain regions associated with social cognition, to promote mother-infant bonding (may underlie social transitions)

seeley et al (2007)

activation of the salience network as an adaptation to pregnancy/postpartum - with increased threat-detection, focus on infant wellbeing and harm avoidance

Miller & O’Hara (2019)

maternal emotional distress is associated with lower levels of responsiveness/sensitivity toward infants

epifanio et al (2015)

from pregnancy-1yr post partum, there is a heightened risk for experiencing mental health disorder and/or relapse of symptoms

paulson & basemore (2010)

paternal depression rates are elevated if partner is being treated for mental health condition

mcmanus et al (2016)

common mental health disorders have increased in prevalence among women but have remained relatively stable in men

baxter et al (2014)

depression and anxiety are commonly experienced at childbearing age

responsive parenting includes

• reduces infant crying

• increases infant responsiveness

• fosters healthy relationships, behaviours and socioemotional skills

miller & o’hara (2019)

maternal emotional distress is associated with lower levels of responsiveness/maternal sensitivity

family stress model

becoming a parent lowers parents’ subjective wellbeing as parents must adjust to major changes in daily lives, roles and relationships which creates stress

family systems theory

shift from dyadic relationship to triadic system affects the functioning of both parents and their relationships

• couples rls satisfaction declines form birth-6months as interpersonal conflict increases

eval of postpartum specific anxiety scale

• good predictive validity

• good content validity

• good convergent validity

• applicability - identification of issues stemming from anxiety, and directing focus to them to solve these issues

adverse effects of mental health condition and stress on infant

lower birthweight, prematurity, challenging temperament, more sleep problems, lower cognitive performance and emotional problems

risk factors for PTSD

trauma exposure pre- or during birth, prebirth mental health difficulties, trait anxiety, perceived low support from partner and/or staff, perceived blame, low perceived control during labor