Postpartum depression in high-risk Brazilian women: psychosocial predictors and effects on maternal vocalization

ABSTRACT

Psychosocial risk conditions can predict postpartum depression (PPD) which can reduce maternal investment into child. We examined, in high-risk Brazilian mothers, PPD predictors measured during pregnancy, and PPD effects on maternal behaviors measured at 4-5 months. 35 depressed (D) and 38 nondepressed (ND) mothers had four behaviors (gaze, smile, vocalization and touch) and three interaction styles (intrusive, withdrawn and good interaction) coded. At 4 months, 48% of mothers presented PPD. Lower levels of education, shorter pregnancy, higher marital conflict and greater prior history of depression were found as PPD predictors. D and ND mothers equally gazed, smiled and touched, while only D mothers vocalized less to their children. Thus, lower levels of education, shorter pregnancy, higher marital conflict and greater prior history of depression catalyzed PPD emergence. PPD reduced maternal investment through lower vocalization during early mother-infant interaction. Finally, both D and ND mothers mostly behaved as good interaction partners.

KEYWORDS:

• Postpartum depression
• verbal and non-verbal behaviours
• interaction styles
• face-to-face interaction

Acknowledgements

The present study is based on data of a longitudinal project on postpartum depression that gave rise to the first author’s master’s thesis and other papers. We are indebted to the institutions, researchers and participants who were responsible for carrying out the longitudinal project. We appreciate Maria de Fátima Pereira and Henrique Barbosa Pasqualetti for helping in the proofreading of the translation into English. We also thank the manuscript reviewers for their insightful and detailed contributions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Renata Pereira Defelipe has received her Master and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of São Paulo. She has completed her first Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychology at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of São Paulo. Her research interests involve: maternal psychopathology, mother-infant interaction, maternal and parental care, child development, and women's well-being.

Briseida Dôgo de Resende has received her Master and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of São Paulo. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of São Paulo. She is an ethologist and her interests involve social influence on learning, motor development and tool use.

Vinicius Frayze David has received his Master in Psychobiology from the University of São Paulo. He is currently an employee of the Institute of Psychology at the University of São Paulo, and collaborator of the Laboratory of Ethology. His research interests involve: ethology, human ethology, psychometrics, and data analysis.

Vera Silvia Raad Bussab has received her Master and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of São Paulo. She is currently Full Professor in the Department of Experimental Psychology and coordinator of the Laboratory of Ethology at the University of São Paulo. Her research interests involve: child development, attachment, psychopathology, sexual and reproductive strategies, attractiveness, discounting of the future, and evolution of artistic propensities.

Notes

1 The Fisher’s exact test was performed because one of the Chi-square assumptions was violated: 33% of the cells had expected frequencies less than five.

Additional information

Funding

Funding was granted by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and São Paulo Research Foundation.