Study Finds Children Exposed to Maternal Depression in Early Childhood at Higher Risk of Developmental Vulnerability

Children exposed to maternal depression before age 5 had a 17% higher risk of having at least one developmental vulnerability by the time they entered school, especially in the areas of social competence and emotional maturity, according to new research. A study, “Maternal Depression in Early Childhood and Developmental Vulnerability at School Entry” published in the September 2020 Pediatrics (published online Aug. 17) found that the risks increased if the child was exposed to a mother’s depression before age one or between ages 4 and 5. The study reviewed 52,103 children -- all born in Manitoba, Canada, between 2005 and 2016 – who completed the Early Development Instrument. Maternal depression was defined using physician visits, hospitalizations, and pharmaceutical data, and developmental vulnerability was assessed using the Early Development Instrument. Compared to mothers without a diagnosis of depression, mothers having a diagnosis of depression before their child’s 5^th birthday were more likely to be under age 25 when they had their first child, to live in social isolation, to be unmarried, and to live in a low-income neighborhood at the birth of their child. The authors note that the relationship observed between maternal depression and child development could be affected by other family-level factors, such as the presence and characteristics of siblings. Although children exposed to maternal depression were at increased risk of developmental vulnerability at school entry, approximately 70 percent of children exposed were not identified as vulnerable on any of the five developmental domains.

Editor’s note: A solicited commentary, “Maternal Depression is a Public Health Crisis: The Time to Act is Now” is published in the same issue of Pediatrics.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.