Association between maternal depressive symptoms in the early post-natal period and responsiveness in feeding at child age 2 years.
Open accessAbstract
Abstract Maternal depression is a known risk factor for poor outcomes for children. Pathways to these poor outcomes relate to reduced maternal responsiveness or sensitivity to the child. Impaired responsiveness potentially impacts the feeding relationship and thus may be a risk factor for inappropriate feeding practices. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationships between self‐reported maternal post‐natal depressive symptoms at child age 4 months and feeding practices at child age 2 years in a community sample. Participants were Australian first‐time mothers allocated to the control group of the NOURISH randomized controlled trial when infants were 4 months old. Complete data from 211 mothers (of 346 allocated) followed up when their children were 2 years of age (51% girls) were available for analysis. The relationship between Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score (child age 4 months) and child feeding practices (child age 2 years) was tested using hierarchical linear regression analysis adjusted for maternal and child characteristics. Higher EPDS score was associated with less responsive feeding practices at child age 2 years: greater pressure [β = 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04–0.32, P = 0.01], restriction (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.001–0.28, P = 0.05), instrumental (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.005–0.27, P = 0.04) and emotional (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.01–0.29, P = 0.03) feeding practices (ΔR2 values: 0.02–0.03, P < 0.05). This study provides evidence for the proposed link between maternal post‐natal depressive symptoms and lower responsiveness in child feeding. These findings suggest that the provision of support to mothers experiencing some levels of depressive symptomatology in the early post‐natal period may improve responsiveness in the child feeding relationship.
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Mothers with depressive symptoms were significantly more likely to engage in less-healthy feeding practices with their infant than mothers without depressive symptoms.
“engage in less-healthy feeding practices with their infant25,62,130”
From Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes (2019) · cites this paper as [25]
The Results (Abstract) and Conclusion report significant associations between higher depressive-symptom scores at four months postpartum and several less-responsive feeding practices when children were two years old. The study did not compare mothers with versus without depressive symptoms as separate groups, and the feeding practices were measured at age two rather than during infancy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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References 25 · Cited by 28
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Derogatis, L.R. & Melisaratos, N. (1993). Brief Symptom Inventory: Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual. (4th ed.). Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.
- Authors
- Mallan, K. M., Daniels, L. A., Wilson, J. L., Jansen, E., & Nicholson, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Venue
- Maternal & Child Nutrition
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2014-05
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 926-935
- ISSN
- 1740-8695 (ISSN-L)
- 1740-8709
- PMC
- PMC6860289
- OpenAlex
- W119526267
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Maternal and Child Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Centre for Health Research; Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
- Funders
- Queensland University of Technology
- State Government of Victoria
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council (426704)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Breastfeeding Practices and Influences
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- postpartum depression, maternal depressive symptoms, maternal responsiveness, child feeding practices, infant feeding, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Australia, Breast Feeding, Child, Preschool, Depression, Feeding Behavior, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Infant, Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mother-Child Relations, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Body Mass Index, Linear Models, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Depression, Postpartum
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