Trajectories of maternal distress and risk of child developmental delays: Findings from the All Our Families (AOF) pregnancy cohort.

Existing literature on the impact of the course of maternal distress symptoms in the perinatal period and beyond has mainly focused on one source of distress (e.g., anxiety or depression) and only selected aspects of child development. This study examined the relative impact of trajectories of maternal depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms from mid-pregnancy to early childhood on child communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal social development at three years of age. Data were analyzed from 1983 mother-child dyads who participated in the three-year follow-up of the All Our Families (AOF) study. Maternal distress and child development across five domains were measured using validated tools. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify trajectories of maternal distress over time. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between the trajectories and child development while adjusting for the covariates. At age three years, 5.2% of children were at risk communication delay; 12.7% for gross motor delay; 15.4% for fine motor delay; 11.2 for problem solving delay; and 5.6% for personal-social delay on ASQ-3 domains. Multivariable analysis showed children born to mothers with persistent high anxiety symptoms from pregnancy to 3-years postpartum had an increased risk of delays in communication and personal-social domains. The use of self-reported maternal mental health symptoms and maternal reported child development are the study limitations. The impact of high levels of maternal anxiety symptoms on the increased risk of child developmental delay in communication and personal-social domains highlights the importance of early intervention and addressing maternal anxiety from pregnancy through early childhood.

Mughal MK ，Giallo R ，Arnold PD ，Kehler H ，Bright K ，Benzies K ，Wajid A ，Kingston D ... -  《-》

Trajectories of maternal stress and anxiety from pregnancy to three years and child development at 3 years of age: Findings from the All Our Families (AOF) pregnancy cohort.

Existing literature on maternal distress has focused on stress and anxiety during the pregnancy or postnatally and their relationship with child development. However, few studies have investigated the association between maternal stress and anxiety symptoms over time and child development in preschool children. The aim of this study was to examine the association between trajectories of maternal stress and anxiety symptoms from mid-pregnancy to three years postpartum and child development at age three years. Data were analyzed from 1983 mother-child dyads who participated in the three year follow-up of the All Our Families (AOF) study. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify trajectories of women's stress and anxiety across from mid-pregnancy to three years postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between the stress and anxiety trajectories and child developmental delays while adjusting for the covariates. LCA identified three distinct trajectories of maternal stress and anxiety symptoms over time. Multivariate analysis showed mothers assigned to the high anxiety symptoms class had an increased risk (adjusted OR 2.80, 95% CI 2.80 (1.42 ─ 5.51), p = 0.003) of having a child with developmental delays at 3 years. The use of self-reported maternal mental health symptoms and no data on fathers' mental health are our study's limitations. The findings from a population-based Canadian sample provide empirical support for a relationship between maternal anxiety overtime and risk of child developmental delays. Identifying and supporting mothers experiencing high anxiety symptoms in the perinatal period may mitigate the risk of these delays in children.

Mughal MK ，Giallo R ，Arnold P ，Benzies K ，Kehler H ，Bright K ，Kingston D ... -  《-》

Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the first 12 months postpartum and child externalizing and internalizing behavior at three years.

Kingston D ，Kehler H ，Austin MP ，Mughal MK ，Wajid A ，Vermeyden L ，Benzies K ，Brown S ，Stuart S ，Giallo R ... -  《PLoS One》

The emotional-behavioural functioning of children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms across pregnancy and early childhood: a prospective Australian pregnancy cohort study.

Giallo R ，Woolhouse H ，Gartland D ，Hiscock H ，Brown S ... -  《-》

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Developmental Delay at Age 2: A Diverse Population-Based Longitudinal Study.

Chorbadjian TN ，Deavenport-Saman A ，Higgins C ，Chao SM ，Yang JH ，Koolwijk I ，Vanderbilt DL ... -  《-》