496 - Association Between Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Early Development in Infants Born Preterm

Poster Number: 496
Publication Number: 496.1092

Background: Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) may affect child development. Giving birth prematurely also increases the risk for PPD. Infants born between 29 and 36 weeks gestational age (GA) represent the majority of preterm births and display developmental vulnerabilities, yet they receive little attention in research and clinical follow-up. The impact of PPD for infants born preterm remains unclear.

Objective: To assess the association between maternal PPD risk and child developmental outcomes at two years corrected age (CA) in infants born at 29-36 weeks GA.

Design/Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of infants born at 29-36 weeks GA that were admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit for at least 48 hours (n = 192). Mothers completed the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale at term-equivalent age (TEA) and at 3.5 months CA. The exposure measure was high PPD risk (score of 10 and above) at TEA, 3.5 months CA, and at both TEA and 3.5 months CA, relative to low PPD risk. We measured developmental outcomes at two years CA with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-IV (Bayley-IV), MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories, and Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL). We assessed the relationship between PPD risk and developmental outcomes using linear and Poisson regression models.

Results: The study population was composed of 192 participants, with a mean GA of 33.2 (±2.0) weeks and mean birth weight of 1860 (±522) grams (Table 1). There were 23 women (12.0%) with high PPD at TEA, 10 (5.2%) at 3.5 months CA, and 13 (6.8%) at both timepoints. At two years CA, a high proportion of children displayed delays across the developmental areas (Table 2). Infants of mothers with high PPD risk at TEA were 2.6 (95% CI 1.2-5.6) times more likely to have cognitive delay compared with infants of low-risk mothers (Table 3). High PPD risk at both TEA and 3.5 months CA was associated with an increased risk of delays in language and socio-emotional areas. There was no association with motor skills.

Conclusion(s): High levels of maternal PPD symptoms may increase the risk of cognitive, language, and socio-emotional delays in infants born at 29-36 weeks GA. The findings highlight the need to enhance PPD screening and care strategies for both preterm infants and their mothers.