POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION: RISK FACTOR FOR INFANTS

研究表明，12%至20%的产后妇女会出现 临床上显著的抑郁反应比 “蓝调”和严重到足以干扰日常功能，包括 母性 研究还表明， 在婴儿早期的母性与社会， 认知和动机的发展 一个有问题的，孤僻的女人 预计无法满足婴儿的需求，这表明， 母亲抑郁症可能是一个潜在的重要风险因素， 婴儿期是特别脆弱的时期。 然而， 产后抑郁症对婴儿及母婴关系的影响 仍有待系统研究。 这似乎是一个重要的问题， 探讨，因为它对初级预防和 早期干预。 在这项拟议中的研究中，一组50名中产阶级，已婚， 符合抑郁症改良研究诊断标准的母亲将 并与50名非抑郁症产后妇女进行匹配。 妇女 在喂养过程中会被观察到与婴儿互动， 在第8、16和24周进行面对面交流。 过程，严重性， 和持续时间的母亲抑郁症将监测访谈， 自我报告措施。 此外，产妇的严重程度和持续时间 生殖学将被检查与产妇的看法， 对婴儿行为的客观测量。 最后，婴儿应对将是 采用趋同措施进行评估，这些措施审查了与社会 非社会环境。 据估计，抑郁的妇女和她们的婴儿将不太积极， 在他们的互动中反应更少， 社会交流的能力。 的婴儿 抑郁的女性也会表现出更少的参与能力， 母亲和较少参与环境挑战。 这项研究的目的是确定产后抑郁症是否是一种 使幼儿处于发育风险的因素。 如果是这样，下一个目标 这项研究计划的重点将是制定适当的预防措施， 战略既关注妇女本身，也关注她们的关系， 与他们的婴儿。

Research has demonstrated that from 12% to 20% of postpartum women develop a clinically significant depressive reaction more prolonged than the "blues" and serious enough to interfere with daily functioning, including mothering. Studies indicate as well that insensitive and unresponsive mothering in early infancy is associated with impairments in social, cognitive, and motivational development. A troubled, withdrawn woman would be expected to be less available to meet her infant needs suggesting that maternal depression may be a potentially significant risk factor and early infancy a time of particular vulnerability. However, the effects of postpartum depression on the infant and the infant-mother relationship remain to be examined systematically. This seems an important issue to explore since it has obvious implications for both primary prevention and early intervention. In the proposed study, a group of 50 middle-class, married, primiparous mothers who meet modified Research Diagnostic Criteria for depression will be identified and matched with 50 non-depressed postpartum women. Women will be observed interacting with their infants during feeding and face-to-face interactions at 8, 16, and 24 weeks. The course, severity, and duration of maternal depression will be monitored with interview and self-report measures. Further the severity and duration of maternal symptomatology will be examined in relation to maternal perceptions and objective measures of infant behavior. Finally, infant coping will be assessed with convergent measures which examine engagement with the social and non-social environment. It is expected that depressed women and their infants will be less positive and less responsive in their interactions and less reciprocal in their social communications that non-depressed mother-infant dyads. Infants of depressed women also are expected to show less ability to engage their mothers and less involvement with environmental challenges. A goal of this study is to determine whether postpartum depression is a factor placing young infants at developmental risk. If so, the next goal of this research program will be the development of appropriate prevention strategies focussed both on the women themselves and on their relationship with their infants.