Long-Term Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Mothers of Infants with Congenital Heart Defects

Abstract

To examine the relationship between the severity of infants' congenital heart defects (CHD) and their mothers' symptoms of depression and anxiety from pregnancy to 18 months postpartum. Mothers of infants with mild, moderate, or severe CHD (n=162) and mothers (n=44,400) within the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were assessed with an eight-item short version (SCL-8) of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 at the 30th week of gestation and at 6 and 18 months postpartum. Only the postpartum mental health trajectory of mothers of infants with severe CHD deviated from the mental health trajectory of the cohort at 6 and 18 months postpartum, showing significantly elevated levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. The results elucidate the relationship between infants' CHD severity and maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety, possibly identifying a specifically vulnerable patient dyad in need of postoperative interventions.