Abstract
The object of this study was to examine the role of emotional reactivity in infants with congenital heart defects (CHD) in
relation to their mothers’ symptoms of postnatal depression. The study population was drawn from the Norwegian country-wide
CHD registry from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Oslo University Hospital and the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort
Study. Mother–infant dyads with mild/moderate or severe CHD (n = 242) were assessed with a 6-item short version (EPDS-6) of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Infant Characteristic
Questionnaire’s fussy/difficult subscale (ICQ-D/F-7) at 6 months postpartum. When adjusting for infant emotional reactivity,
mothers of infants with severe CHD showed significantly elevated symptoms of postnatal depression 6 months postpartum (odds
ratio = 2.22) compared to the mothers of infants with mild/moderate CHD. The results identify severe CHD in infants as a predictor
of heightened symptoms of postnatal depression in mothers, independent of the infant’s emotional reactivity. Although a causal
direction underlying the association could not be determined, the possible, negative reciprocal relationships between severe
CHD in infants, high levels of emotional reactivity in infants, and symptoms of maternal postnatal depression are considered.
relation to their mothers’ symptoms of postnatal depression. The study population was drawn from the Norwegian country-wide
CHD registry from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Oslo University Hospital and the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort
Study. Mother–infant dyads with mild/moderate or severe CHD (n = 242) were assessed with a 6-item short version (EPDS-6) of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Infant Characteristic
Questionnaire’s fussy/difficult subscale (ICQ-D/F-7) at 6 months postpartum. When adjusting for infant emotional reactivity,
mothers of infants with severe CHD showed significantly elevated symptoms of postnatal depression 6 months postpartum (odds
ratio = 2.22) compared to the mothers of infants with mild/moderate CHD. The results identify severe CHD in infants as a predictor
of heightened symptoms of postnatal depression in mothers, independent of the infant’s emotional reactivity. Although a causal
direction underlying the association could not be determined, the possible, negative reciprocal relationships between severe
CHD in infants, high levels of emotional reactivity in infants, and symptoms of maternal postnatal depression are considered.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Article
- Pages 1-6
- DOI 10.1007/s00737-011-0243-1
- Authors
- Øivind Solberg, Department of Psychosomatics and Health Behaviour, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen, Box 4404, 0403 Oslo, Norway
- Maria T. Grønning Dale, Department of Psychosomatics and Health Behaviour, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen, Box 4404, 0403 Oslo, Norway
- Henrik Holmstrøm, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, 0027 Oslo, Norway
- Leif T. Eskedal, Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet Hospital, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
- Markus A. Landolt, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland
- Margarete E. Vollrath, Department of Psychosomatics and Health Behaviour, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen, Box 4404, 0403 Oslo, Norway
- Journal Archives of Women’s Mental Health
- Online ISSN 1435-1102
- Print ISSN 1434-1816