Cronicidade da depressão materna no primeiro ano pós-parto e o desenvolvimento infantil : estudo longitudinal

Abstract

Introduction: Child development consists of the construction of cognitive, motor and affection skills. It is related to the child’s competence in executing certain tasks and having a proper behavior according to his or her age. The evolution process is influenced by many variables and is produced by a complex combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. Depressed mothers present difficulties related to the perception, interpretation and responsiveness to the child’s needs. For such reason it is extremely important to investigate the effects of depression over the offspring. Objective: To analyze the impact of mother’s depression chronicity over the babies’ development. Methods: This is a longitudinal study. The participants of this study were mothers that had prenatal care on Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) at Pelotas city, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The mothers were interviewed in two different moments; the first interview occurred between 30-90 days after birth and the second interview occurred 10-12 months after the first assessment; the babies were assessed concomitantly to the mother’s second interview. The EPDS was used for mother’s depression screening and the Bailey-II was used to assess the child development. Results: The sample consists of 380 dyads. The mother’s depression concomitant to the baby’s assessment didn’t interfere on mental, motor or behavioral development. However, the chronicity of depression alongside with lower socioeconomic status and mother’s age were associated with worse cognitive and language performance. The chronicity didn’t reach such magnitude to interfere over the motor and behavioral development of the babies.