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Postnatal depression (PND) is common and negatively affects the mother-infant relationship; oxytocin (OT) has been found to have positive effects on parenting, although psychiatric disorders may reduce these effects. Thus, we explored the role of OT in mothers diagnosed with PND. A within-subject, randomized controlled double-blind design was used to test the effects of nasal administration of OT or placebo on sensitive caregiving. The outcome measures were perceptual and caregiving responses to prerecorded cry sounds, as well as observed maternal sensitivity. We found that in the OT condition mothers with PND were more likely to rate an infant cry as more urgent and they were more likely to indicate they would chose a harsh caregiving strategy in response. There was no effect of OT on maternal sensitive interaction with their own baby. Further research is required prior to consideration of OT administration in depressed mothers of infants.

Objective: To carry out a systematic review exploring the interconnections between oxytocin, postnatal depression (PND), and parenting. Questions include: (1) How does PND affect parenting? (2) How does oxytocin affect parenting? (3) How does oxytocin affect PND?, Methodology: To review English articles in major medical databases., Results: Compared to nondepressed controls, mothers with PND interact with their infants less sensitively, report feeling less competent, and less often choose recommended practical-parenting strategies. Psychological interventions for mothers with PND generally have positive effects on mother-infant interactions. The administration of oxytocin in community samples tends to improve parental behaviors. Findings exploring the association between oxytocin and PND were inconsistent, with some evidence that oxytocin has a negative impact on mood., Conclusions: Oxytocin is potentially useful in improving parental behaviors of mothers with PND, but more research is needed to establish its safety because of the uncertain impact of OT on maternal mood.

Background: Successful parenting requires maternal behaviors that promote infant survival such as protection from predators. In animal studies, oxytocin (OT) has been linked to maternal aggression to protect offspring. No human study has explored this topic. Mothers with a diagnosis of postnatal depression (PND) are at higher risk of neglecting their infants. We hypothesized that intranasal OT administration would increase the protective behaviors of mothers with PND, toward their infants., Methods: Sixteen mothers with a diagnosis of PND participated in a double-blind, randomized-controlled, within-subject pilot study. Participants received intranasal OT during one visit and placebo spray on the alternate visit. Maternal protective behavior toward their infant was measured, in the presence of a socially intrusive stranger., Results: The enthusiastic stranger paradigm stimulated participants' protective responses in the presence of an intrusive stranger. Furthermore, this protective response of mothers with a diagnosis of PND was increased in the OT condition., Conclusions: The study introduces a new paradigm, the enthusiastic stranger paradigm, which may be used to examine a neglected type of parental behavior, that is, protection of offspring. The protective response of mothers with PND increased, in line with the 'tend and defend' effects of OT in animal models. In future work it should be tested whether this protection effect can also be found in nonclinical samples, or whether it is specific for clinically depressed mothers., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Postnatal depression is common and negatively affects the mother-baby relationship; oxytocin has been found to have positive effects on parenting behavior. We hypothesize that intranasal administration of oxytocin to mothers with depression will influence their parenting related expressed emotion, creating a better basis for sensitive parenting., Methods: Twenty-five postnatally depressed mothers with infants less than one year participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled within-subject clinical study in 2011. Mothers attended an out-patient perinatal psychiatry setting in NSW, Australia. They received 24 IU of oxytocin alternating with placebo approximately one week apart in random order, prior to completing outcome measures. The outcome measures were the Five Minute Speech Sample, the Self-Assessment Manikin and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test., Results: In the oxytocin condition mothers were sadder (p=.01), and they more often initially described their babies as difficult (p=.038), but they reported that the quality of their relationship with their infant was more positive (p=.036)., Limitations: Despite an adequate sample size to answer our central hypothesis, a larger sample may have elucidated a moderating effect of childhood trauma., Conclusion: Oxytocin did not make depressed mothers happier but their perception of the relationship with their baby improved. Treatment with intranasal oxytocin might show some unwanted side-effects in depressed individuals., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)