Infant emotion recognition training may help reduce the incidence of postpartum depression in at-risk mothers. The corresponding study was presented at the 36th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) conference and published in Neuroscience Applied.
Negative cognitive bias is a risk and maintaining factor for depression. Research shows that negative-biased cognitive processing of infant signals, such as infant cries and facial expressions, indicates a higher risk of postpartum depression, even among women without a history of depression. Postpartum depression can generate intense emotional distress for both mother and baby, and impact how children develop secure attachments later in life.
Around a third of women have trouble bonding with their babies after birth. Methods that improve mothers’ response to infant signals could thus improve developmental and mental health outcomes for mothers and babies.
In the current study, researchers included 45 pregnant women from hospitals in Denmark. 23 of the women were at a high risk of postpartum depression and potentially not bonding with their child as they had previously suffered from depression. The remaining 22 expectant mothers had no history of depression and were thus classified as having a low risk of postpartum depression.
To begin, the researchers recorded the particpants' responses to various ‘baby emotions’. Women who were previously classified as a higher risk for postpartum depression then underwent a series of computer-based training sessions to help them cope with difficult emotions. They were then assessed two weeks later. As a part of the training, the researchers taught mothers to focus on how babies were expressing themselves and not what they thought they saw, and then to visualize how to best respond to those emotions.
One of the study’s authors, Anne Bjertrup of the Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen- NEAD Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark, said in a press release: “We found that participants’ perceptions of infant facial expressions shifted significantly after the training. For example, before the training, they viewed ambiguous baby facial expressions as slightly negative."
“After the training, this perception became positive, marking a 5% shift towards a positive perception on our rating scale. Importantly, those who showed the most improvement in recognizing happy baby expressions had fewer indications of depression six months post-childbirth," she added.
Dr. Bjertrup concluded that training expectant mothers to be more sensitive to 'happy' baby expressions, and helping them better handle infant distress, may reduce their risk of postpartum depression. She noted, however, that further studies are needed to confirm the results and that, towards this end, the researchers are currently undertaking a larger trial, which will include a control group.
Sources: Neuroscience News, Neuroscience Applied