Women who suffer from anxiety and depression while pregnant may have babies with altered brain structures, a small study published in JAMA Pediatrics has found.
The cohort study measured anxiety and depression symptoms in 101 women during their third trimester of pregnancy by having them fill out a questionnaire. Six women exhibited symptoms of major depression, five had moderate depression, and 42 had mild depression. Researchers later measured the presence of white matter microstructure when the babies were one month old, using diffusion tensor imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging. They found a correlation between lower levels of white matter microstructure in the one-month-olds and higher levels of anxiety and depression in the mother during pregnancy. The patterns were different among boys and girls.
Does Depression During Pregnancy Affect Your Baby? https://t.co/aMK1YVKZ1I
— Psych Central (@PsychCentral) August 22, 2018
“Our study suggests that moderate levels of maternal depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy were associated with variations in the brain’s white matter microstructure or ‘wiring’ at one month of age,” lead study author Douglas Dean III told Reuters.
Levels of white matter microstructure alone are not indicative of potential behavioral problems in the future, but rather one factor to consider, researcher Erika Forbes, who was not involved with the study, told Reuters: “Changes in brain development don’t necessarily lead to long-term impairments in cognition, behavior, or emotion.”
#Depression and #anxiety during the third trimester of #pregnancy may affect early brain development. https://t.co/oPLoLC4fyU pic.twitter.com/QOiGL2uK9b
— Psychiatric News (@PsychiatricNews) August 27, 2018
“They might not be meaningful, and they’re just one factor,” Forbes said. “But they could make some children more vulnerable to serious problems.”
A study published in July in Psychoneuroendocrinology found that women who experience major depression during pregnancy may see an impact on their babies as young as six days old. The researchers of the new study also noted that depressed mothers are more likely to give birth to underweight babies and babies who need intensive care following birth.
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