Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms of Chinese pregnant women and twin newborns’ physical health: the moderating role of infant sex

ABSTRACT

Consequences of prenatal maternal depressive symptoms on infant health are well established. But the results of infants’ sex differences of such consequences are mixed. The current study examines whether any association exists between prenatal maternal depressive symptoms and infant physical health different for the sex of newborns. A sample of 84 women pregnant with twins reported depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the late gestational stage. The Apgar scores of newborns were assessed by healthcare providers at 1, 5, and 10 minutes after birth. The relationship of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms and newborns’ physical health was moderated by infant sex. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with a lower Apgar index among newborn boys but not girls. Fetus environment or biomarkers related to sex may be a key mechanism of the effect of prenatal depression symptoms on newborns’ health. Tailored interventions targeting maternal depression symptoms may be warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Prenatal depressive symptoms
• maternal distress
• newborn
• Apgar
• sex

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China [2016YFC1000408].