Brown, RH;
Eisner, M;
Walker, S;
Tomlinson, M;
Fearon, P;
Dunne, MP;
Valdebenito, S;
... Murray, AL; + view all
(2021)
The impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences and prenatal depressive symptoms on foetal attachment: Preliminary evidence from expectant mothers across eight middle-income countries.
Journal of Affective Disorders
, 295
pp. 612-619.
10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.066.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mothers from middle-income countries (MIC) are estimated to have higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depression during pregnancy compared to mothers from high income countries. Prenatal depression can adversely impact on a mother's feelings towards her foetus and thus may be partially responsible for intergenerational transmission of risk associated with maternal ACEs. However, the extent to which prenatal depressive symptoms mediate the association between maternal ACEs and foetal attachment is unknown. METHODS: Data on foetal attachment, ACEs, and prenatal depression came from mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy (n = 1,185) located across eight MICs, participating in the prospective birth cohort Evidence for Better Lives Study - Foundational Research (EBLS-FR). Data were from the baseline measurement. RESULTS: Full-sample path mediation analyses, adjusting for relevant covariates, suggested a full mediating effect of prenatal depression. However, at the individual-country level, both positive and negative effects of ACEs on foetal attachment were observed after the inclusion of depressive symptoms as a mediator, suggesting cultural and geographical factors may influence a mother's empathic development after ACE exposure. LIMITATIONS: As no follow-up measurements of depressive symptoms or postnatal attachment were included in the analyses, the findings cannot be extrapolated to the postnatal period and beyond. Further, causality cannot be inferred as the study was observational. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reinforce the importance of screening for prenatal depression during antenatal care in MICs. Addressing prenatal depression within maternal health care may support foetal attachment and contribute to reducing the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences and prenatal depressive symptoms on foetal attachment: Preliminary evidence from expectant mothers across eight middle-income countries |
| Location: | Netherlands |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.066 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.066 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Adverse childhood experiences, Birth cohort, Depressive symptoms, Maternal-foetal-attachment, Prenatal |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137317 |
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