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Whereas the maternal 'blues' has been widely researched, comparatively less is known about the "highs" following childbirth, and the relation between mothers and fathers' mood in this early period. We aimed to investigate the association between maternal 'blues' and 'highs' with paternal postpartum mood (here described as 'lows' and 'highs') in the early postpartum and their associations with the quality of child bonding. Women and their cohabitating male partners, fathers of the index child (N = 98 couples), attending an obstetric hospital unit completed questionnaires on mood, bonding and socio-demographics between the 3rd and the 5th postpartum day. We used generalised estimating equations to analyse the data. The 'blues' scores were higher in mothers, whereas 'highs' and bonding were higher in fathers. Maternal 'blues' were significantly correlated with paternal 'lows' (rs =.23, p <.05) and maternal 'highs' were also associated with paternal 'highs' (rs =.22, p <.05). Parental 'highs' were significantly associated with better baby bonding (B =.13, p =.02). Our study demonstrates moderate associations between both 'blues/lows' and 'highs' in mothers and fathers shortly after the birth of the child. Associations between mood, particularly 'highs', and bonding were similar for mothers and fathers. Greater consideration of 'blues/lows' and 'highs' in both parents is needed to promote adjustment in the postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal anxiety, depression, and stress during and after pregnancy are negatively associated with child cognitive development. However, the contribution of positive maternal experiences, such as social support, to child cognitive development has received less attention. Furthermore, how maternal experience of social support during specific developmental periods impacts child cognitive development is largely unknown. Methods: Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n = 5784) and the Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction study (PREDO; n = 420), we investigated the associations between maternal perceived social support during and after pregnancy and child's general cognitive ability at 8 years of age, assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Bayesian relevant life course modeling was used to investigate timing effects of maternal social support on child cognitive ability. Results: In both cohorts, higher maternal perceived social support during pregnancy was associated with higher performance on the WISC, independent of sociodemographic factors and concurrent maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety. In ALSPAC, pregnancy emerged as a sensitive period for the effects of perceived social support on child cognitive ability, with a stronger effect of social support during pregnancy than after pregnancy on child cognitive ability. Conclusions: Our findings, supported from two prospective longitudinal cohorts, suggest a distinct role of maternal perceived social support during pregnancy for cognitive development in children. Our study suggests that interventions aimed at increasing maternal social support during pregnancy may be an important strategy for promoting maternal and child well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is good evidence that if a woman is depressed, anxious, or stressed while she is pregnant, then there is an increased risk that her child will have emotional, behavioral, or cognitive problems. Her own biology must cause these effects, but it is not known how. One important line of research suggests that the function of the placenta changes in response to maternal mood in ways that may allow more of the stress hormone cortisol and the neurotransmitter serotonin to pass through to the developing fetus and affect brain development. A better understanding of these mechanisms should eventually help researchers devise interventions to improve child development and health.

Objective: Maternal antenatal anxiety is associated with an increased risk of behavioral disturbances in offspring. Recent work has suggested that the effect of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months is moderated by the serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR, with carriers of the short allele more susceptible to the adverse behavioral outcomes of maternal antenatal anxiety. These findings, however, are yet to be replicated and extended beyond infancy. The aim of the current study was to assess this same potential moderator (5-HTTLPR) in a large population-based cohort study, and to determine whether or not the effects persist into childhood and early adolescence. Method: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) cohort (N = 3,946) were used to assess whether the 5-HTTLPR genotype moderated the association between self-reported maternal antenatal anxiety (Crown Crisp Index) in pregnancy, and child temperament at 6 months (Infant Temperament Questionnaire), and also later behavioral and emotional problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire from age 4 to 13 years. Results: We found no evidence to suggest that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism moderated the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months or infant behavioral and emotional problems from childhood through to adolescence. Conclusion: Our results, based on a large prospective community sample that assessed children from infancy to early adolescence, provide a thorough test of, but no evidence for, a genetic moderation of the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety by 5-HTTLPR. (Contains 2 tables.)

If a mother is stressed or anxious while pregnant her child is more likely to show a range of symptoms such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, aggression or anxiety. While there remains some debate about what proportion of these effects are due to the prenatal or the postnatal environment, and the role of genetics, there is good evidence that prenatal stress exposure can increase the risk for later psychopathology. Why should this be? In our evolutionary history it is possible that some increase in these characteristics in some individuals was adaptive in a stressful environment, and that this type of fetal programming prepared the child or group for the environment in which they were going to find themselves. Anxiety may have been associated with increased vigilance, distractible attention with more perception of danger, impulsivity with more exploration, conduct disorder with a willingness to break rules, and aggression with the ability to fight intruders or predators. This adaptation for a future dangerous environment may explain why stress and anxiety, rather than depression, seem to have these programming effects; why there is a dose-response relationship with prenatal stress from moderate to severe and it is not only toxic stress that has consequences; why not all children are affected and why individual children are affected in different ways; and why the outcomes affected can depend on the sex of the offspring. An evolutionary perspective may give a different understanding of children in our society with these symptoms, and suggest new directions for research. For example, there is some evidence that the type of cognitive deficits observed after prenatal stress have specific characteristics; these may be those which were adaptive in a past environment.