Maternal Affect Research Articles

Prospective association between maternal bonding disorders and child toothbrushing frequency: A cross-sectional study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

Daily toothbrushing prevents early childhood caries, but reinforcement depends on facilitative parenting behaviours. Mother-to-infant bonding, the maternal affection towards the infant, is an environmental factor that strongly influences parenting. This study examined the association between maternal bonding and children's daily toothbrushing frequency. The sample consisted of 83954 mother-infant pairs at two years postpartum, derived from the initial sample of JECS (cohort study), which included 104062 foetuses. Maternal bonding disorders were assessed using the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). After multiple imputation for missing data, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted with adjustments for several maternal (eg, age at delivery) and child-related (eg, self-performed toothbrushing) variables. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for the association of maternal bonding disorders with the low (once per day) and the very low child toothbrushing frequency (<1 per day) was 1.12 (1.07-1.17) and 1.23 (0.91-1.66), respectively, after covariate adjustments. Furthermore, the univariate general linear model showed that the mean MIBS scores significantly decreased as the daily child toothbrushing frequency increased. The prevalence of maternal bonding disorders at one year postpartum was prospectively associated with a lower frequency of child toothbrushing at two years of age.

Partner influence as a factor in maternal alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms, and maternal effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Few studies have investigated the partner's influence on risk factors such as alcohol consumption and depression during pregnancy. Partner substance use and lower relationship satisfaction predict higher maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms. Because prenatal alcohol use and maternal depression affect infant outcomes, it is imperative to examine how the partner affects these maternal risk factors. The current study examined the effect of a latent construct of partner influence on maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms, and the effects on infant development of these maternal factors. Participants were 246 pregnant women from 2 sites in Western Ukraine from whom longitudinal data were collected as part of a multisite study. In the first trimester, mothers reported on relationship satisfaction, partner substance use, and socioeconomic status (SES). In the third trimester, they reported on alcohol use and depressive symptoms. Infants were assessed using the Bayley Scale of Infant Development (average age=6.93months). A latent construct titled partner influence was formed using partner substance use and measures of relationship satisfaction, including the frequency of quarreling, happiness in the relationship, and the ease of talking with the partner. Using structural equation modeling, a model was specified in which partner influence and SES predicted maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms, which in turn predicted infant neurodevelopmental outcomes. Higher partner influence significantly predicted lower prenatal alcohol use and lower depressive symptoms, controlling for the effect of SES. Higher maternal prenatal alcohol use significantly predicted lower infant mental and psychomotor development. Maternal depressive symptoms did not predict infant development over and above the effect of alcohol use. Partner influence is an important contributor to prenatal alcohol use and maternal depressive symptoms, over and above the effect of SES. The significant paths from prenatal alcohol exposure to infant neurodevelopmental outcomes underscore the importance of partner influence during pregnancy.

Individuals’ marital instability mediates the association of their perceived childhood parental affection predicting adulthood depression across 18 years

Background: Parenting theories propose that lack of childhood parental affection confers increased vulnerability to heightened adulthood depression. However, only a few prospective studies have examined this topic, and no studies included mediators of the childhood parental affection–adulthood depression connection. Objective: This study examined parenting, and interpersonal theories by determining if participants’ (n= 2,825) mid-life marital instability mediated their perceived childhood parental affection predicting depressive symptoms in adulthood across 18 years. Methods: Childhood maternal and paternal affection (Parental Support Scale) was measured at Time 1 (T1). Depressive symptoms (Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form) were measured at T1, Time 2 (T2), and Time 3 (T3), spaced approximately nine years apart. Marital instability (Marital Instability Index) was measured at T1 and T2. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to test whether perceived childhood parental affection would independently negatively predict T3 depressive symptoms, and if participants’ mid-life marital instability mediated those relations. All analyses adjusted for prior levels of mediator and outcome variables. Results: Lower perceived childhood maternal and paternal affection predicted higher T3 depressive symptoms. Lower childhood maternal and paternal affection predicted higher T2 marital instability. Greater marital instability in turn predicted elevated T3 depression. Individuals’ marital instability mediated those associations, by accounting for 17–20% of the total effects. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of perceived childhood parental affection to nurture a strong marital bond to reduce the odds of developing major depressive disorder in middle-to-late adulthood.

Past and present experiences with maternal touch affect infants’ attention toward emotional faces

Maternal touch is considered crucial in regulating infants’ internal states when facing unknown or distressing situations. Here, we explored the effects of maternal touch on 7-month-old infants’ preferences towards emotions. Infants’ looking times were measured through a two-trial preferential looking paradigm, while infants observed dynamic videos of happy and angry facial expressions. During the observation, half of the infants received an affective touch (i.e., stroke), while the other half received a non-affective stimulation (i.e., fingertip squeeze) from their mother. Further, we assessed the frequency of maternal touch in the mother-infant dyad through The Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch Scale (PICTS). Our results have shown that infants’ attention to angry and happy facial expressions varied as a function of both present and past experiences with maternal touch. Specifically, in the affective touch condition, as the frequency of previous maternal affective tactile care increased (PICTS), the avoidance of angry faces decreased. Conversely, in the non-affective touch condition, as the frequency of previous maternal affective tactile care increased (PICTS), the avoidance of angry faces increased as well. Thus, past experience with maternal affective touch is a crucial predictor of the regulatory effects that actual maternal touch exerts on infants’ visual exploration of emotional stimuli.

Parental postpartum affective disorders as a risk factor for infant bedtime resistance

IntroductionInfant intrinsic factors, parental mental health, and parenting functioning could influence infant sleep development (Camerota et al., 2019). The current study was designed to advance understanding of parental mental health in influencing bedtime resistance in infants aging 8-12 months.ObjectivesThe main aim of the present study was to examine the role of parental postpartum affective disorders, infants’ temperament and paternal involvement at bedtime in predicting infants’ bedtime resistance (e.g. fussing, crying or protesting).Methods60 Italian families of infants (34 boys and 26 girls) aging from 8 to 12months (M =10.73, SD = 2.54) participated in this study. Parents completed Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (Sadeh et al., 2009), Perinatal Assessment of Paternal and Maternal Affectivity (Baldoni et al., 2018), QUIT for infants’ temperament (Axia, 2002) and an ad-hoc questionnaire for fathers’ involvement. Two multiple linear regressions (MR), one for fathers and one for mothers, and relative weight analyses (RWA) were conducted.ResultsInfants’ involvement in constant bedtime routines (reported by fathers: β = −.35, p &lt; .05; mothers: β = −.31, p &lt; .05) and paternal involvement at bedtime (fathers: β = −.45, p &lt; .01; mothers: β = −.27, p &lt; .05) represented protective factors for infants’ bedtime difficulties. Paternal affective disorders, accounted for 17.2% of the explained variance for mothers’ and 12.5% for fathers’ reports of infant bedtime difficulties, more than did maternal postpartum affective disorders.ConclusionsFindings support that parental mental health can interfere with infants’ bedtime resistance.

The relationship of maternal anxiety, positive and negative affect schedule, and fatigue with neonatal psychological health upon childbirth

BackgroundExposure of mothers to negative moods and stress before childbirth leads to negative consequences for the infants. Given the importance of psychological health, this study aimed to examine the effect of these factors on the infants’ psychological health.MethodThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Shiraz hospitals on 110 pregnant women selected with multistage random sampling. Research tools included The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) to measure fatigue with three criteria; The Positive and Negative Emotion Schedule (PANAS); and The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to measure maternal mood and anxiety level. Also, neonatal psychological health was assessed by a checklist. Neonatal psychological health’s correlation with maternal anxiety, fatigue, and mental state was assessed. Data were analyzed by SPSS-19 software using Pearson correlation coefficient and statistical regression at the significance level of 0.05.ResultAlthough there was no significant relationship between maternal anxiety score and neonatal psychological health after birth (p = 0.231; r=-0.343), the relationship was significant immediately after birth with positive (P < 0.001; r = 0.343) and negative affect scores (P < 0.001; r=-0.357).ConclusionsThere was a statistically significant relationship between the neonatal psychological health and maternal fatigue (p ≤ 0.001; r = -0.357) and PANAS (p ≤ 0.001) of the mother; however, it had no significant relationship with maternal anxiety (p = 0.231; r=- 0.343). Therefore, nurses and midwives can reduce maternal anxiety and improve neonatal mental health by supporting mothers.

193 Prevalence and predictors of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact at birth

Immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has well-established benefits for both mother and baby, yet its implementation varies widely, with limited data on predictors. This study aims to quantify the prevalence and duration of immediate SSC for vaginal deliveries and to determine how maternal and newborn health affect SSC occurrence and duration. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of vaginal deliveries over six months at an academic medical center. Demographic and clinical predictor variables were abstracted from medical records. We determined associations with SSC occurrence and duration using multivariate logistic and linear regression, respectively. The prevalence of any SSC was 74%, with steady reduction as duration increased. The mean duration of SSC was 30.5 minutes. The presence of maternal delivery complications decreased SSC occurrence (aOR 0.41, 95%CI: 0.18-0.94), but maternal comorbidities did not. Maternal higher education increased odds of any SSC (aOR 2.06, 95%CI: 1.20-3.53). Compared to infants with 1-minute Apgar scores of 8-10, those with scores of 0-3 were about 4 times less likely to receive any SSC (aOR 0.24, 95%CI: 0.09-0.68). Other neonatal factors that decreased odds of any SSC were multiple gestation (aOR 0.06, 95%CI: 0.02-0.18), prematurity (aOR 0.39, 95%CI: 0.20-0.78), NICU admission (aOR 0.13, 95%CI: 0.06-0.28), and exclusive formula-feeding at discharge (aOR 0.49, 95%CI: 0.24-0.99). Low Apgar score, multiple gestation, prematurity, NICU admission, and feeding method at discharge also significantly decreased SSC duration. Maternal comorbidities, delivery complications, and higher education were not associated with SSC duration. The practice of immediate SSC after vaginal delivery occurs less often and with shorter duration than recommended. This practice is further decreased in the setting of maternal and neonatal complications, despite documented benefits extending to those scenarios. Interventions to increase SSC should include education on benefits and safety for patients and providers to improve maternal and neonatal care.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)

Guilt, shame, and postpartum infant feeding outcomes: A systematic review.

Negative maternal affect (e.g., depression and anxiety) has been associated with shorter breastfeeding duration and poorer breastfeeding intention, initiation, and exclusivity. Other affective states, including guilt and shame, have been linked with formula feeding practice, though existing literature has yet to be synthesised. A narrative synthesis of quantitative data and a framework synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data were conducted to explore guilt and/or shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes. Searches were conducted on the DISCOVER database between December 2017 and March 2018. The search strategy was rerun in February 2020, together yielding 467 studies. The study selection process identified 20 articles, published between 1997 and 2017. Quantitative results demonstrated formula feeders experienced guilt more commonly than breastfeeding mothers. Formula feeders experienced external guilt most commonly associated with healthcare professionals, whereas breastfeeding mothers experienced guilt most commonly associated with peers and family. No quantitative literature examined shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes, warranting future research. The framework synthesis generated four distinct themes which explored guilt and/or shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes: ‘underprepared and ineffectively supported’, ‘morality and perceived judgement’ (breastfeeding), ‘frustration with infant feeding care’ and ‘failures, fears and forbidden practice’ (formula feeding). Both guilt and shame were associated with self‐perception as a bad mother and poorer maternal mental health. Guilt and shame experiences were qualitatively different in terms of sources and outcomes, dependent on infant feeding method. Suggestions for tailored care to minimise guilt and shame, while supporting breastfeeding, are provided.

The Role of Remembered Parenting on Adult Self-Esteem: A Monozygotic Twin Difference Study.

Self-esteem is an attitude about the self that predicts psychopathology and general well-being. Parenting practices have been shown to be related to self-esteem, but these estimates are confounded because parents and children share genes. The aim of the present study was to use the monozygotic (MZ) twin difference design to isolate the non-shared environmental impact of remembered parenting on self-esteem. In a sample of 1328 adults (345 MZ twin pairs, 319 DZ twin pairs), retrospective reports of maternal and paternal affection were related to self-esteem, all of which were significantly heritable. Using MZ difference scores, paternal affection differences, but not maternal affection differences, were significantly related to self-esteem differences. These results suggest that parenting provided by the father directly impacts self-esteem through non-shared environmental mechanisms. Maternal affection, on the other hand, impacts self-esteem through shared genes (not shared environment, as shared environment was not a significant aspect of self-esteem). This has implications for parenting intervention programs.

Mother-child communication about possible cancer recurrence during childhood cancer survivorship.

Providing opportunities to communicate about possible cancer recurrence may be adaptive for youth in remission, yet parents may experience difficulty guiding discussions related to fears of cancer recurrence (FCR). This study aimed to characterize mother-child discussions about potential cancer recurrence during post-treatment survivorship and to determine predictors of maternal communication. Families (N=67) were recruited after the child's initial cancer diagnosis (age 5-17 years) and mothers self-reported their distress (post-traumatic stress symptoms; PTSS). During survivorship 3-5 years later, mothers were video-recorded discussing cancer with their children. Presence and length of discussion about potential cancer recurrence, triggers for FCR, expressed affect, and conversational reciprocity were examined. Hierarchical regressions were used to assess maternal PTSS near the time of cancer diagnosis and child age as predictors of maternal communication. Three-quarters of dyads spontaneously discussed risk for or fears about cancer recurrence; mothers initiated the topic more frequently than their children. Dyads discussed internal (bodily symptoms) and external (medical, social) triggers of FCR. Higher maternal PTSS at diagnosis predicted significantly lower levels of maternal positive affect (β=-0.36, p=0.02) and higher levels of maternal negative affect (β=0.30, p=0.04) during discussion of recurrence 3-5 years later. Older child age significantly predicted higher levels of maternal negative affect (β=0.35, p=0.02). Higher maternal PTSS at diagnosis predicted shorter discussions about recurrence for younger children (β=0.27, p=0.02). Understanding predictors and characteristics of mother-child discussions about recurrence can guide family-based FCR interventions, particularly those promoting communication as a supportive tool. Both maternal PTSS and child age are important to consider when developing these interventions.

Juntos en la casa común, con María, la madre de Jesús : una lectura de Hch 1,12-14 en el contexto de pandemia

The article deals with the central role of Mary in Christian life from the rereading of Acts 1,12-14 in the context of the 2020 national Marian year signed by the pandemic and the quarantine. The reflection develops the biblical and theological founda- tions of the fontality of the loving knowledge of Mary, and its place in the maternal affection of the Church, as a point of support for a pastoral activity that prioritizes the confident Marian piety and the caring and maternal presence of Christians at home, in society and in the common home.

Maternal bonding, negative affect, and infant social-emotional development: A prospective cohort study

BackgroundTheoretical perspectives and empirical evidence suggest that maternal bonding and negative affect play a role in supporting infant social-emotional development (Branjerdporn et al., 2017; Kingston et al., 2012; O'Donnell et al., 2014; Van den Bergh et al., 2017). However, the complex pathways likely to exist between these constructs remain unclear, with limited research examining the temporal and potentially bi-directional associations between maternal bonding and negative affect across pregnancy and infancy. MethodsThe interrelationships between maternal bonding, negative affect, and infant social-emotional development were examined using multi-wave perinatal data from an Australian cohort study (N = 1,579). Self-reported bonding and negative affect were assessed at each trimester, and 8 weeks and 12 months postpartum. The Bayley-III social-emotional scale was administered at age 12 months. ResultsResults revealed strong continuities in bonding and negative affect across pregnancy and postpartum. Small associations (β = -.10 to -.20) existed between maternal negative affect during pregnancy and poor early bonding. Higher postnatal maternal bonding predicted infant social-emotional development (β = .17). LimitationsLimitations include a somewhat advantaged and predominantly Anglo-Saxon sample of families, and the use of self-report measures (though with strong psychometric properties). These limitations should be considered when interpreting the study findings. ConclusionsMaternal bonding and negative affect are interrelated yet unique constructs, with suggested developmental interplay between mother-to-infant bonding and infant social-affective development.

Primjena muzikoterapije u poticanju majcinske privrzenosti i samopercipiranih roditeljskih kompetencija majki u riziku

Early experience of emotional communication contributes to the attachment between mother and infant and has an impact on the child’s neurological, social, and emotional development. By applying music therapy activities aimed at parent-child interaction, it is possible to create experiences in which the mother and child share the rhythm, tempo, melody, and pitch of their voices, what are all intrinsic elements of the early attachment process. The aim of this paper was to explore the possibility of applying music therapy in promoting maternal attachment and self-perceived parental competence in mothers at risk. The study was conducted on a sample of three mothers and their infants who were enrolled in a music therapy program once a week for 10 weeks. Before and after conducting music therapy, the mothers completed the Maternal Postnatal Affection Scale and the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. The obtained results indicate the positive outcomes of music therapy in enhancing maternal attachment in mothers at risk as well as the level of selfperceived competence in parental role. Music therapy intervention can be integrated as a therapeutic approach aimed at enhancing attachment in the mother-infant dyad and at fostering parental competence in mothers at-risk.

Different Types of Childhood Experience with Mothers and Caregiving Outcomes in Adulthood.

The current study examines the types of childhood experiences with mothers (i.e., maternal abuse, affection, discipline) among caregivers of aging mothers, and investigates whether membership in specific latent classes, particularly maternal maltreatment, is associated with psychological functioning among caregivers. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), we used the Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) approach of latent class analysis (LCA) to predict distal outcomes. We identified four latent classes (prevalence rate noted): "Affectionate and authoritative" (65%), "affectionate and permissive" (11%), "emotionally abusive and neglectful" (8%), and "emotionally/physically abusive and authoritative" (16%). Caregivers in the "emotionally/physically abusive and authoritative" class endorsed high probabilities of both maternal affection and abuse and were most negatively affected across the three psychological functioning outcomes (i.e., self-rated mental health, psychological distress, and psychological well-being). In support of the life course perspective, our findings emphasized the importance of examining adult children caregivers' early life experiences with aging mothers and how those experiences can impact the psychological effects of caregiving. This study suggests specific practice implications; for example, assessment tools for evaluating caregiver burden should consider life course factors such as caregivers' childhood experiences with aging parents.

Using mobile eye-tracking technology to examine adolescent daughters' attention to maternal affect during a conflict discussion.

Attention to socio-emotional stimuli (i.e., affect-biased attention) is an integral component of emotion regulation and human communication. Given the strong link between maternal affect and adolescent behavior, maternal affect may be a critical influence on adolescent affect-biased attention during mother-child interaction. However, prior methodological constraints have precluded fine-grained examinations of factors such as maternal affect on adolescent attention during real-world social interaction. Therefore, this pilot study capitalized on previously validated technological advances by using mobile eye-tracking and facial affect coding software to quantify the influence of maternal affect on adolescents' attention to the mother during a conflict discussion. Results from 7,500 to 9,000 time points sampled for each mother-daughter dyad (n=28) indicated that both negative and positive maternal affect, relative to neutral, elicited more adolescent attentional avoidance of the mother (ORs=2.68-9.20), suggesting that typically developing adolescents may seek to avoid focusing on maternal affect of either valence during a conflict discussion. By examining the moment-to-moment association between in vivo displays of maternal affect and subsequent adolescent attention toward the mother's face, these results provide preliminary evidence that maternal affect moderates adolescent attention. Our findings are consistent with cross-species approach-avoidance models suggesting that offspring respond to affectively charged conversations with greater behavioral avoidance or deference.

Role of maternal affect and regulatory strategies in toddlers’ emotion and behavior regulation

Using a moment-to-moment multilevel approach, we examined the relative effectiveness of (a) toddlers’ lagged (i.e., previous-interval) regulatory strategies and toddlers’ lagged expression of negative emotion, as moderated by maternal affect, and (b) maternal lagged regulatory strategies, on toddlers’ current-interval (1) expression of negative emotion, and, (2) ability to delay gratification during a wait task. Two-level random coefficient models, with twelve repeated-measurement occasions (10 s-intervals) of observed behaviors (N = 1571) nested within 134 mother-toddler dyads from low-income families (67 girls; Mage = 25.77 months, SDage = 1.60) were examined. Cross-level interactions revealed that maternal positive affect buffered severity of toddlers’ expression of negative emotion between lagged and current-intervals, while maternal negative affect disrupted toddlers’ effective utilization of lagged regulatory strategies on current-interval expression of negative emotion. However, regardless of maternal affect, toddlers who displayed higher expression of negative emotion and utilized more regulatory strategies in lagged-intervals displayed greater delay of gratification in current-intervals. Also, as mothers displayed greater minimization of toddlers' emotional distress, higher physical restraint, and used fewer distractions, toddlers displayed more intense expression of negative emotion in subsequent intervals. Similarly, as mothers used higher physical restraint and fewer distractions, toddlers were less able to wait in subsequent intervals. Results illustrate the disruptive roles of maternal negative affect and unsupportive regulatory strategies on toddlers' emotion and behavior regulation. Together, these findings point to targeting maternal positive affect in combination with supportive regulatory strategies to promote toddlers’ transition from external- to internal-regulation.

Maternal prenatal anxiety trajectories and infant developmental outcomes in one-year-old offspring

A longitudinal study of a sample of women and their offspring from two urban areas (N = 233) was conducted to test whether maternal prenatal anxiety trajectories from early to late pregnancy are associated with 12-month infant developmental outcomes, independent of maternal postpartum anxiety symptoms, prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms, parity, birth outcomes and maternal education. Three types of maternal anxiety trajectories over the course of pregnancy were identified and labeled increasing, decreasing, and stable-low. Only increasing maternal prenatal anxiety was associated with 12-month infant outcomes, specifically lower Bayley-III scores on receptive language and gross motor skills. Maternal anxiety measured at each individual timepoint in pregnancy was not associated with infant Bayley-III outcomes, highlighting the importance of examining trajectories of maternal affect.

Parental negative emotionality and emotional reactions to child’s crying: the mediating role of child’s temperament

ABSTRACT Child’s crying is the stimuli serving the development of a child–parent relationship through evoking child-oriented and parent-oriented parental reactions. Individual differences in parental reactions to crying have been partly explained by parental and child’s temperament. We conducted two studies to verify the predicting effects of temperamental emotionality of parents and children on mothers’ (Study 1 and 2) and fathers’ (Study 2) self-reported emotional reactions to own child crying. In the Study 1 (N = 108), maternal ratings of the child’s global level of emotional reactivity and regulation partially mediated the relationship between mother’s emotional reactivity and parent-oriented reactions to the child crying. This result was confirmed in the Study 2 (N = 270) with maternal general negative affect and child’s negative emotionality as predictors. Additionally, in the Study 2, child’s temperamental negative emotionality fully mediated the relationship between the father’s negative affect and parent-oriented emotional reactions to the child’s crying.

The influence of maternal anxiety and depression symptoms on fNIRS brain responses to emotional faces in 5- and 7-month-old infants

Greater relative right (versus left) frontal cortical activation to emotional faces as measured with alpha power in the electroencephalogram (EEG), has been considered a promising neural marker of increased vulnerability to psychopathology and emotional disorders. We set out to explore multichannel fNIRS as a tool to investigate infants’ frontal asymmetry responses (hypothesizing greater right versus left frontal cortex activation) to emotional faces as influenced by maternal anxiety and depression symptoms during the postnatal period. We also explored activation differences in fronto-temporal regions associated with facial emotion processing. Ninety-one typically developing 5- and 7-month-old infants were shown photographs of women portraying happy, fearful and angry expressions. Hemodynamic brain responses were analyzed over two frontopolar and seven bilateral cortical regions subdivided into frontal, temporal and parietal areas, defined by age-appropriate MRI templates. Infants of mothers reporting higher negative affect had greater oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) activation across all emotions over the left inferior frontal gyrus, a region implicated in emotional communication. Follow-up analyses indicated that associations were driven by maternal depression, but not anxiety symptoms. Overall, we found no support for greater right versus left frontal cortex activation in association with maternal negative affect. Findings point to the potential utility of fNIRS as a method for identifying altered neural substrates associated with exposure to maternal depression in infancy.

Disturbed genomic imprinting and its relevance for human reproduction: causes and clinical consequences.

Human reproductive issues affecting fetal and maternal health are caused by numerous exogenous and endogenous factors, of which the latter undoubtedly include genetic changes. Pathogenic variants in either maternal or offspring DNA are associated with effects on the offspring including clinical disorders and nonviable outcomes. Conversely, both fetal and maternal factors can affect maternal health during pregnancy. Recently, it has become evident that mammalian reproduction is influenced by genomic imprinting, an epigenetic phenomenon that regulates the expression of genes according to their parent from whom they are inherited. About 1% of human genes are normally expressed from only the maternally or paternally inherited gene copy. Since numerous imprinted genes are involved in (embryonic) growth and development, disturbance of their balanced expression can adversely affect these processes. This review summarises current our understanding of genomic imprinting in relation to human ontogenesis and pregnancy and its relevance for reproductive medicine. Literature databases (Pubmed, Medline) were thoroughly searched for the role of imprinting in human reproductive failure. In particular, the terms 'multilocus imprinting disturbances, SCMC, NLRP/NALP, imprinting and reproduction' were used in various combinations. A range of molecular changes to specific groups of imprinted genes are associated with imprinting disorders, i.e. syndromes with recognisable clinical features including distinctive prenatal features. Whereas the majority of affected individuals exhibit alterations at single imprinted loci, some have multi-locus imprinting disturbances (MLID) with less predictable clinical features. Imprinting disturbances are also seen in some nonviable pregnancy outcomes, such as (recurrent) hydatidiform moles, which can therefore be regarded as a severe form of imprinting disorders. There is growing evidence that MLID can be caused by variants in the maternal genome altering the imprinting status of the oocyte and the embryo, i.e. maternal effect mutations. Pregnancies of women carrying maternal affect mutations can have different courses, ranging from miscarriages to birth of children with clinical features of various imprinting disorders. Increasing understanding of imprinting disturbances and their clinical consequences have significant impacts on diagnostics, counselling and management in the context of human reproduction. Defining criteria for identifying pregnancies complicated by imprinting disorders facilitates early diagnosis and personalised management of both the mother and offspring. Identifying the molecular lesions underlying imprinting disturbances (e.g. maternal effect mutations) allows targeted counselling of the family and focused medical care in further pregnancies.