Immunological and other biological correlates of the impact of antenatal depression on the mother-infant relationship

Abstract

Antenatal depression affects up to 20% of pregnancies, yet research has historically focused on postnatal depression and its effects on mothers and their offspring. Studies are now emerging highlighting the impact that depression in pregnancy can also carry on both members of the dyad, including difficulties with psychological, physical, and social functioning. More specifically, researchers have begun to examine whether antenatal depression may lead to difficulties in the developing mother-infant relationship and subsequent infant attachment. While much of the research on this has explored psychosocial mechanisms behind the pathway from antenatal depression to a disrupted relationship in the postpartum, few studies have looked at biological underpinnings of this process. Of the literature that exists, it has been found that mothers with depression in pregnancy have lower levels of oxytocin and increased levels of inflammatory markers, plausibly creating difficulties in the mother-infant bonding process, leading to impaired mother-infant interactions and non-secure infant attachment. Furthermore, infants with non-secure attachments are at risk of entering a proinflammatory state due to a dysregulated stress response system. Overall, the literature on the neurobiology of mother-infant interactions and infant attachment in the context of antenatal depression is sparse, thus warranting future research.