Perinatal depression, or depression that occurs just before, during or after birth, may reduce how much mothers interact with their children, which is tied to a higher risk of developmental delays, according to a study published recently in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.
While conditions such as fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) focus on physical risks to newborns, these findings highlight that maternal mental health can also shape a child’s longer-term emotional and social development.
Researchers followed 884 mother–child pairs in Western Kenya from pregnancy through early childhood. Slightly more than a third of mothers, 36.8%, experienced perinatal depression at some point from pregnancy to 9 months after delivery. Over time, children whose mothers engaged less frequently with them faced significantly greater challenges in social–emotional development.
Mother–child interaction changed a lot as children grew. Some mothers were doing several activities with their children every few days, while others were doing fewer. In this study, “high engagement” meant doing at least 4 simple activities within 3 days, such as singing, playing, talking or taking a child outside.
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Depending on the child’s age, between about 27% and 94% of mothers reached that level. Mothers who experienced depression during pregnancy or after birth were about 20% more likely to fall below this level, meaning they were less likely to regularly do these everyday activities with their children.
This difference in interaction mattered for children’s development. Children whose mothers had lower engagement were more than twice as likely to show delays in social and emotional skills, such as interacting with others or managing feelings.
These delays were more common in younger children, affecting about 1 in 4 at 30 months, and became less common with age, dropping to about 1 in 23 by 60 months. When a mother had both depression and low engagement, the impact was even stronger, with some results suggesting the child’s risk of delay could be three times higher.
“Interventions that address perinatal depression and encourage developmentally appropriate mother–child engagement should be integrated into antenatal and postnatal health services and prioritised for those reporting adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner violence during pregnancy,” stated the authors of this study.
Other stressors also played a role. Mothers with a history of adverse childhood experiences or recent intimate partner violence were less likely to engage with their children. For example, women reporting intimate partner violence were about 28% more likely to have low engagement. These findings suggest that social and emotional stress can compound, affecting both parent and child.
For patients and families, including those already navigating medical conditions such as FNAIT, the results underscore that care should extend beyond physical health. Screening for depression during and after pregnancy, along with support for parent–child interaction, may help reduce developmental risks. Simple activities like talking, playing and reading with a child could make a measurable difference, especially when paired with mental health support for mothers.
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