Abstract

EFFECTS OF POSTNATAL DEPRESSION ON INFANT DEVELOPMENT

Mary Ransam and Lincy George*

Abstract

Depression has a profound impact on parameters of interpersonal behavior. This review was undertaken to examine the current evidence for the Postnatal depression is associated with disturbances in the mother -infant relationship, which in turn have an adverse impact on the course of child cognitive and emotional development. Studies of healthy mother-infant dyads have demonstrated that infants are highly sensitive to their interpersonal environment. It is therefore, likely that postpartum depression, by virtue of its impact on maternal interpersonal functioning, will disrupt normal infant engagements with the mother and, as a consequence, impair infant developmental progress.

Keywords: Postpartum depression, Low mood, Psychotherapy.