Author's personal copy Infant Behavior & Development 35 (2012) 513–522 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Infant Behavior and Development Short communication Mother’s depression at childbirth does not contribute to the effects of antenatal depression on neonate’s behavioral development Alexandra Pacheco a,b,∗ , Bárbara Figueiredo b a Center for Childhood and Youth District, Social Security Centre of Oporto, Portugal b School of Psychology, Minho University, Portugal a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 22 February 2011 Received in revised form 13 November 2011 Accepted 28 February 2012 Keywords: Childbirth Depression Face/voice preference Habituation Neonate pregnancy a b s t r a c t Background: Maternal depression is a worldwide phenomenon that has been linked to adverse developmental outcomes in neonates. Aims: To study the effect of antenatal depression (during the third trimester of pregnancy) on neonate behavior, preference, and habituation to both the mother and a stranger’s face/voice. To analyze mother’s depression at childbirth as a potential mediator or modera- tor of the relationship between antenatal depression and neonate behavioral development. Method: A sample of 110 pregnant women was divided in 2 groups according to their scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale during pregnancy (EPDS; ≥10, depressed; <10, non-depressed). In the first 5 days after birth, neonatal performance on the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) and in the ‘Preference and habituation to the mother’s face/voice versus stranger’ paradigm was assessed; each mother filled out an EPDS. Results: Neonates of depressed pregnant women, achieved lower scores on the NBASs (reg- ulation of state, range of state, and habituation); did not show a visual/auditory preference for the mother’s face/voice; required more trials to become habituated to the mother’s face/voice; and showed a higher visual/auditory preference for the stranger’s face/voice after habituation compared to neonates of non-depressed pregnant women. Depression at childbirth does not contribute to the effect of antenatal depression on neonatal behavioral development. Conclusion: Depression even before childbirth compromises the neonatal behavioral devel- opment. Depression is a relevant issue and should be addressed as a routine part of prenatal health care. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. In a previous study, Figueiredo, Pacheco, Costa, Conde, and Teixeira (2010) found that neonates of depressed and/or anxious mothers compared to newborns of non-anxious/non-depressed mothers presented worse behavioral development, namely, they did not show a visual/auditory preference for their mother’s face/voice nor improved preference for those of a stranger after habituation to their mother’s face/voice. Part of this study is a replication of the data of Figueiredo et al. (2010); nevertheless, we included a more complete assessment of neonate behavioral development, with the administration of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Our purpose is to study if the results obtained can also be observed in other dimensions of neonatal development. This study uses a different sample and a different statistical procedure to test if depression at birth is a mediator/moderator of the relationship between antenatal depression and neonatal neurobehavior. Another innovation is the focus on depressive symptomatology instead of depression and anxiety simultaneously. ∗ Corresponding author at: School of Psychology, Minho University, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-056 Braga, Portugal. Tel.: +351 253 604241; fax: +351 253 678987. E-mail address: alexandrap@psi.uminho.pt (A. Pacheco). 0163-6383/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2012.02.001