[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
Article
January 2007

Externalizing and Attentional Behaviors in Children of Depressed Mothers Treated With a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Antidepressant During Pregnancy

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, Human Early Experience Unit, Centre for Community Child Health Research, Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health (Drs Oberlander, Papsdorf, and Grunau), and Child Psychiatry (Dr Reebye) and Reproductive Mental Health Program (Dr Misri), Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; and College of Pharmacy, Sungkyunwan University, Seoul, South Korea (Dr Kim).

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(1):22-29. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161.1.22
Abstract

Objective  To evaluate attentional and activity behaviors in 4-year-olds following prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposure.

Design  Prospective cohort design.

Setting  Tertiary care center.

Participants  Twenty-two 4-year-olds with prolonged prenatal SSRI medication exposure and 14 children without prenatal exposure.

Main Exposure  Prenatal SSRI exposure.

Main Outcome Measures  Group differences in externalizing behaviors (according to the Child Behavior Checklist) and direct observations of child attention, activity, and impulsiveness in a laboratory setting using the procedure by Crowell and colleagues were compared, including measures of the duration of prenatal SSRI exposure, umbilical cord drug levels, a history of poor neonatal adaptation, and maternal mood.

Results  Externalizing behaviors did not differ between groups. Maternal depression and anxiety at the 4-year follow-up were associated with increased reports of externalizing behaviors. Increased externalizing behaviors were associated with increased umbilical cord drug levels (F1,34 = 6.3; P = .02), but when controlling for maternal depressed mood at the 4-year follow-up, such levels only accounted for 11.2% of the behavioral outcomes (P>.05). On direct observation, the persistence score for child behavior was significantly lower in the exposed group. Increased aggressiveness scores were associated with a history of poor neonatal adaptation, even when parental report of stress was added to the model (F1,34 = 4.0; P = .03); however, neither parental report of stress nor poor neonatal adaptation were significant (both P = .09), suggesting that both are important, if not unique, predictors of child behavior.

Conclusions  These findings suggest that the best predictors of externalizing behaviors at age 4 years are current maternal mood and parental stress, regardless of prenatal depressed mood and SSRI treatment during pregnancy. It remains uncertain whether poor neonatal adaptation can be excluded as a possible predictor of externalizing behaviors.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are frequently used to manage maternal anxiety and depression during gestation,1 and recent concerns about altered neonatal behaviors following prenatal exposure have raised questions about possible long-term neurodevelopmental effects.2 Beyond altered neonatal behaviors,2 little is known about the long-term neurobehavioral outcomes following in utero exposure to SSRIs.3-6 Associations between prenatal SSRI exposure and cognitive and language development have not been demonstrated,5,6 and a single study3 has shown subtly altered early-childhood fine motor development following SSRI exposure in the third trimester. In that study, children prenatally exposed to SSRIs had lower Apgar scores at birth and lower Bayley Scales of Infant Development psychomotor developmental scores at ages 6 to 40 months. Even with prenatal SSRI treatment, maternal mood at 4 years still appears to play a role in influencing internalizing behaviors5 during childhood.

Use of SSRIs during pregnancy also occurs in the context of maternal mental illness, which independently is a well-known risk to the fetus and developing child.7 Prenatal and postnatal exposure to maternal anxiety and depression have been widely associated with childhood attention, emotion, and arousal regulatory disorders.8 Higher levels of maternal anxiety in late pregnancy were related to an increased risk for behavioral-emotional problems in a longitudinal study9 of 4-year-olds. Similarly, postpartum depression has been linked to an increase in attentional and behavioral problems during childhood.8 However, whether prenatal exposure to SSRI medications and maternal depression independently or cumulatively contribute to the burden of adverse behavioral outcomes during childhood remains a central question.

Previously, we found that prenatal SSRI exposure was associated with an increased risk of poor neonatal adaptation (PNA) associated with increased umbilical cord drug levels, particularly of paroxetine hydrochloride,10 altered pain reactivity in exposed neonates and infants,11,12 and increasingly difficult temperament at age 3 months among infants exposed to SSRIs and benzodiazepine.13 We expected that if these early behavioral outcomes, which reflected signs of altered serotonin-mediated regulatory processes, persisted beyond the first few months of life, they might be subsequently expressed as altered externalizing behaviors at age 4 years. Specifically, we expected parent reports of higher levels of externalizing behaviors and laboratory-based observations of increased levels of activity and aggressive behavior. To address this question, we studied children from our original cohort of infants to determine whether prenatal SSRI exposure was associated with altered arousal regulation (eg, externalizing behaviors, attention, and aggression) and activity levels during early childhood. For this study, we chose aspects of behaviors that reflect the serotonin-mediated process, namely, a spectrum of community-based and parent-reported attentional behaviors as well as levels of activity, impulsiveness, defiance, compliance, problem solving, task persistence, and control issues occurring in the context of the mother-child relationship in a laboratory setting.

Methods

Subjects

With approval from the University of British Columbia Research Ethics Board, the Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia Research Review Committee, and informed parental consent, a consecutive cohort of mothers and their infants were recruited during pregnancy as part of a prospective longitudinal study of prenatal psychotropic medication use. Mothers and their infants in the control group were recruited during the newborn period and were eligible if no psychotropic, illicit drug use or antidepressant medication use occurred during the pregnancy, the pregnancy was full term (37-42 weeks), and there was no history of maternal mental illness, as previously described.10,11

Mothers were originally recruited between January 1, 1997, and April 1, 1999, while undergoing treatment for mood and/or anxiety disorders through the Reproductive Mental Health Program at British Columbia Women's Hospital, Vancouver. As previously described,11 46 mothers in the SSRI group participated in the first phase of this study. All of the mothers were contacted for participation as their children approached their third and fourth birthdays and were studied between July 9, 2002, and July 16, 2003. Twenty-four mothers and children were lost to follow-up, leaving 22 children prenatally exposed to SSRIs for the follow-up study. In the initial cohort, 23 mothers and their infants formed the control group; of these, 9 declined to participate in the follow-up assessment, leaving 14 control children.

Behavioral data

Child Behavior Checklist and Child-Teacher Report Form

The widely used and well-validated Child Behavior Checklist14 (CBCL) and Child-Teacher Report Form14 are self-administered and can be completed by the child's mother (CBCL) and teacher (Child-Teacher Report Form) in less than 15 minutes. They were used to provide standardized ratings and descriptive details of the behavior of children aged 1.5 to 5 years in the prior 2 months. The complete CBCL (at ages 1.5-5 years) and Child-Teacher Report Form questionnaires were administered in the published format; however, for the current study, we focused on attention and aggressive behaviors, examining the subscales specific to externalizing problems comprising the attention subscale (including the child's ability to sit still and concentrate) and the aggressive behaviors subscale (including the child's defiance, demandingness, temper, and acting-out behaviors). In addition, we used the clinical scales of attention deficit/hyperactivity problems and oppositional defiance problems. Scoring was carried out using standard computer scoring software that generates t scores.

Observed Child Behavior

An assessment of each child's activity was obtained from observations of caregiver-child interactions using a procedure developed by Crowell and colleagues.15-17 This involved a series of 8 activities designed to elicit behaviors that allow the clinician to focus on the relationship between a child and his or her caregiver in a setting that is unstructured enough to allow for “real-life” or spontaneous interactions. The 8 episodes included free play, clean up, a bubble-blowing episode, 4 increasingly difficult problem-solving tasks, and a separation and reunion episode, and they were completed in 45 to 60 minutes. Child behavior was tabulated to assess the degree to which the child and caregiver were comfortable with each other, the ways they negotiated transitions, their ability to problem solve together, their use of shared affect (positive and negative) to communicate, and attachment behaviors. Behaviors18 were scored to yield measures of 7 child behaviors: positive affect, withdrawn or depressed, irritability or anger, noncompliance, aggression, persistence, and enthusiasm. Five caregiver scales were also derived: behavioral responsiveness, emotional responsiveness, positive affect, withdrawn or depressed, and irritability or anger. The scales are scored on a 7-point anchored system (a score of 0 being the lowest and 7 the highest).15 Child affect–irritability, child affect–withdrawn, and child affect–positive scales are scored from 0 to 4, and the remaining scales were scored from 1 to 7. Fear of mother was scored as yes or no. This procedure has been previously used to demonstrate different caregivers' representations and specificity of the interaction between mothers and their children as well as to distinguish between clinic-referred and comparison toddlers15 and between delayed and nondelayed toddlers.15,19 All of the sessions were videotaped and later coded by a trained infant psychiatrist (P.R.) blind to the assignment of groups.

Videotaped child activity behaviors were used to derive measures of activity using a technique that is similar to those used by ethnologists. Hutt et al20 used this method of observation of children in experimental settings. We adapted this method to observe children through a 1-way mirror, noting the child's explorations away from the anchor point when the child was left alone at the separation sequence. As all of the children had an opportunity to explore the room in a similar fashion, this was an important opportunity to see how the child exercised the freedom of activity without parental or adult supervision.

These ecobehavioral measures of child activity were tabulated from videotaped behaviors observed during 5 structured mother-child interactions to yield measures of exploratory activity of the child. Observations of a secure base exploration made while the child was playing with his or her mother were contrasted with behavior when the mother was asked to leave the room and during a reunion phase to yield measures of exploration, passivity, and fidgetiness. A free-play period in which mothers played with their child (10 minutes) was followed by these periods: (1) clean up toys; (2) transition 2, bubble time (5 minutes); (3) transition 3, 4 tasks for the mother-child session (total time, 12 minutes) (age-dependent tasks were the following: for 2- to 3-year-olds, stacking activity and simple puzzle; for 2.5- to 3.5-year-olds, a more-complicated puzzle and age-specific Developmental Learning Materials cards used for duplication of shapes and colors; and for 3.5- to 4.5-year-olds, sorting task, matching cards tasks, and playing with a toy house with complex shapes that fit into different slots); (4) transition 4, separation of mother and child (maximum time, 3 minutes); and (5) transition 5, mother-child reunion in the observation room (3 minutes). Videotaped behaviors were also coded to yield measures of 3 aspects of the children's affect, ie, positivity, withdrawal, and irritability.

Cognition

To ensure that differences in attention and behavior were not a function of another developmental disability, cognitive screening was carried out using the information subtest from the verbal scale and the block design subtest from the performance scale of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised.21

Pharmacological Data

Five-milliliter infant umbilical cord blood samples were collected during labor and delivery. All of the blood samples were collected, stored, and analyzed as previously described.22 Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry electron impact ionization22 was used to measure fluoxetine hydrochloride, its metabolite, and paroxetine.22 Sertraline hydrochloride and its metabolite desmethylsertraline (norsertraline) were measured using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Maternal Mood Measures

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression23 is a 21-item clinician-administered scale that measures the severity of depression in adults. Scores range from 0 to 63, with higher scores being associated with higher levels of depression in the patient. Scores ranging from 0 to 7 suggest no or minimal levels of depression; 8 to 17, mild depression; 18 to 25, moderate depression; and 26 and higher, severe depression. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety24 is a 14-item clinician-administered scale that measures the severity of anxiety. Total scores on this scale have a possible range of 0 to 56, with higher scores on this measure being associated with higher levels of anxiety in the patient. Scores ranging from 0 to 7 suggest no or minimal levels of anxiety; 8 to 17, mild anxiety; 18 to 25, moderate anxiety; and 26 and higher, severe anxiety. The Symptom Questionnaire Score is a self-administered measure used to assess symptoms and well-being in depression, anxiety, anger-hostility, and somatic conditions.25 The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) short version was used in this study to identify parent-child systems that were under stress and at risk for the development of dysfunctional parenting behaviors or behavioral problems in the child. The PSI has been used as a screening, diagnostic, and research instrument for parents of children younger than 10 years.26

Data Reduction and Statistical Analysis

A composite measure of activity was derived from the CBCL (parent's CBCL externalizing score + teachers' CBCL externalizing scores) from the ecobehavioral laboratory-based observations, based on the work of Crowell and Feldman,15,16 summed from the following empiric measures: (1) movement (numbers of moves + numbers of quadrants entered); (2) aggressiveness (negativity with mother + interaction with mother + roughness with toys); (3) attention (compliance + persistence + avoidance); and (4) emotion (negativity + anxiety). The primary analyses compared child behavioral outcomes between prenatally exposed and control groups using t tests. Along with SSRI exposure, the factors of maternal mood, prenatal clonazepam exposure, a history of PNA, and umbilical cord drug levels were examined in regression models as predictors of child behaviors. Reliability was determined using 2 scorers (P.R. and Ursula Brain, BA) reviewing 7 cases (18%), yielding Cohen κ coefficients. Using the methods of Crowell and Feldman,15 scores within 1 scale point of each other were considered to be in agreement. The κ coefficients for the child behaviors ranged from 1.0 (enthusiasm) to 0.5 (positive affect) for child scores.

Results

Maternal pregnancy and neonatal or infant characteristics are tabulated in Table 1. In the 22 mothers in the group exposed to SSRIs, symptoms of depressed mood persisted and all except 1 mother returned on receiving an SSRI medication at follow-up (the mother had stopped receiving paroxetine and began receiving doxepin hydrochloride). Comparing those studied at the 4-year follow-up with those not followed up, there were no significant demographic differences (Table 1). All of the mothers in the SSRI group had a diagnosis of depression during their pregnancies. Two mothers who had been in the no-exposure control group had since begun receiving an SSRI medication and returned at the 4-year follow-up with a diagnosis of depression (Table 2). Previously, maternal mood at the 2 months' postpartum assessment was not substantially different between groups; by 4 to 5 years later, mothers in the SSRI treatment group reported significantly more depressed and anxiety-related symptoms (Table 3). Child demographic characteristics are tabulated in Table 4.

Table 1. 
Characteristics of Mothers and Their Children in Dyads Studied Compared With Those Not Followed Up at 4 Years
Characteristics of Mothers and Their Children in Dyads Studied Compared With Those Not Followed Up at 4 Years
Table 2. 
Maternal Medications During Pregnancy and at 4-Year Follow-up
Maternal Medications During Pregnancy and at 4-Year Follow-up
Table 3. 
Maternal Mental Health at 4-Year Follow-up
Maternal Mental Health at 4-Year Follow-up
Table 4. 
Child Characteristics at 4-Year Follow-up
Child Characteristics at 4-Year Follow-up

Externalizing behavioral measures

Child externalizing behaviors (attention, aggression, attention deficit/hyperactivity, and oppositional or defiant behaviors) rated by parent and teacher report did not differ between the exposed and nonexposed groups (Table 5). However, a greater proportion of children with prenatal SSRI exposure had externalizing scores greater than 60 (the clinical cutoff) compared with those in the nonexposed group, although this difference was not statistically significant (7 children [31.8%] vs 2 children [14.3%], respectively; χ2 = 1.4, P>.10). Externalizing behaviors reported by parents but not by teachers were significantly associated with measures of maternal mood at the 4-year follow-up (Table 6).

Table 5. 
Externalizing Behaviors According to Parent and Teacher Reports on Child Behavior Checklist and Child-Teacher Report Form*
Externalizing Behaviors According to Parent and Teacher Reports on Child Behavior Checklist and Child-Teacher Report Form*
Table 6. 
Correlations Between Maternal Mood Stress Variables and Parent-Rated Externalizing and Laboratory-Observed Activity Behavioral Outcome Variables From the Child Behavior Checklist and Activity Composite Scores
Correlations Between Maternal Mood Stress Variables and Parent-Rated Externalizing and Laboratory-Observed Activity Behavioral Outcome Variables From the Child Behavior Checklist and Activity Composite Scores

Using a regression model, parental reports of CBCL-measured externalizing behaviors were significantly associated with depressed parental mood even when a history of prenatal SSRI exposure, a history of prenatal clonazepam exposure, the length of prenatal drug exposure, and a history of PNA (PNA, respiratory distress, irritability, jitteriness, and an increased rate of admission to a special-care nursery10) were added to these models.

Parental reports of increasing externalizing behaviors were associated with increased umbilical cord drug levels at birth (Table 2) (F1,17 = 6.33, P = .02); however, when maternal depressive symptom measures at the time of the 4-year follow-up were added to the regression model, umbilical cord drug levels accounted for only 11.2% of the variance in behavioral outcomes and were no longer significant (P>.10) (although maternal mood was also not significant [P = .07]).

Laboratory-based activity and behavioral observational measures

Mean clinician-coded measures of avoidance, compliance, control, and enthusiasm were derived from a structured laboratory study of interactions between mothers and their children. Average interrater reliability on this scale has been shown to be 0.89.15 With the exception of persistence, which was significantly lower in the exposed group (F1,34 = 5.35, P = .03), individual measures and composite behavioral scores of movement (activity), aggressiveness, attention, and emotion were not significantly different between the 2 study groups (Table 7). Mean aggressiveness (negativity with mother + interaction with mother + roughness with toys) composite scores were significantly higher in children with a history of PNA compared with children without a history of these symptoms (10.1 children vs 7.3 children, respectively; F1,34 = 4.71, P = .04). These neonatal symptoms continued to account for 13.3% of the variance in aggression observed during the mother-child interaction, even when controlling for maternal depressed mood at the time of this follow-up study (P = .03).

Table 7. 
Child Behavior in the Context of Mother-Child Interaction and Composite Child Activity or Attention Behavioral Scores*
Child Behavior in the Context of Mother-Child Interaction and Composite Child Activity or Attention Behavioral Scores*

Using a regression model, increased composite laboratory-observed aggressive behavioral scores were associated with a history of PNA. However, when the PSI score was added to the model, the overall model remained significant (F = 4.02, P = .03) but neither PSI score nor history of PNA were significant (both P = .09), suggesting that both are important, if not unique, predictors of child behavior.

Maternal mood at the 2 months' postpartum assessment or Bayley Scales of Infant Development developmental scores at age 8 months were not predictive of subsequent child behavior or activity.

Comment

Using a variety of parent and teacher reports and direct laboratory-based observations, behavioral differences were observed in the follow-up of 4- to 5-year-old children of depressed mothers treated with an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy. Although the overall levels of parent- and teacher-reported externalizing behaviors (on the CBCL) were not significantly different between groups, mothers reporting higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depressed mood at the 4-year follow-up were more likely to report increased levels of externalizing behaviors. Within the prenatal exposure group, increased umbilical cord SSRI drug levels at birth were associated with an increased incidence of externalizing behaviors. However, when maternal mood at the time of the study was controlled for, umbilical cord drug levels no longer accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in these behaviors. Using a laboratory-based observational measure, persistence was found to be significantly lower in the exposed group, even when controlling for maternal mood at the time of the study. In addition, increased levels of laboratory-based aggressive behaviors were observed in children with a history of PNA, even when accounting for parental stress. Importantly, however, the history of PNA and PSI scores overlap to some extent, so they both contributed to the prediction of aggression but not uniquely; both seem to be important, but their unique contribution to child behavior in this study could not be teased apart. Such findings suggest that even with appropriate prenatal treatment of depressed maternal mood during and following pregnancy, it appears that concurrent maternal mood still influences child behavior regardless of clonazepam exposure or the length of prenatal SSRI treatment.

To date, there have been limited studies3-6 of the long-term neurobehavioral outcomes following in utero exposure to SSRIs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine activity and attentional behaviors 4 years after prenatal SSRI exposure. Previous work6 reported that measures of intelligence and language development in preschool-aged children were not influenced by fluoxetine exposure in the first trimester, although the study did not specify the maternal daily dose of the SSRI, the measure of maternal depression, or the measure of maternal intelligence. In this prospective study of children aged 15 to 71 months with prenatal fluoxetine exposure, cognitive, language, and behavioral development did not differ with prenatal exposure. Using population-based data linking hospital and community data with pharmacy records of SSRI antidepressants, Simon et al27 found no differences in motor or speech development during the first 2 years of life. Mattson et al28 also reported no differences in neuropsychological evaluation results of preschool-aged and school-aged children (aged 48-72 months) between children with and without prenatal fluoxetine exposure. In contrast, Casper et al3 examined 31 children aged 6 to 40 months and found that prenatal SSRI exposure had subtle effects on both motor development and motor control (tremulousness and fine motor movements) as well as lower psychomotor and developmental scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. To date, none of these studies have examined the dual impact of prenatal SSRI exposure and concurrent exposure to maternal mental illness.

The association between maternal mood and child behavior is consistent with previous findings.7,8,29 Mounting evidence has shown links between adverse maternal mood during pregnancy and preterm delivery as well as lower birth weight, and it suggests that maternal distress may have lasting effects on postnatal development.30,31 Such effects may include altered motor development,32 impaired regulatory control of behavior in childhood, and psychiatric disorders in adulthood.33-36 Exposure to postpartum maternal depression alone has also been widely recognized as a key determinant of child development and behavior. Altered sleep and feeding as well as irritability have been observed in infants of depressed mothers, and a negative impact on cognitive, social, and behavioral development during childhood has been observed.32 Beyond prenatal SSRI exposure, prenatal exposure to depressed maternal mood itself was associated with an increased risk for PNA symptoms37 and maternal anxiety was associated with increased internalizing behaviors in 4- to 5-year-olds.5 However, higher levels of externalizing behaviors have been reported by depressed mothers but not by teachers.38 Moreover, when prenatal maternal anxiety is accounted for, prenatal depression does not independently affect development.9,39

Our findings have potential implications for pediatricians, family physicians, and psychiatrists alike. Child development following prenatal psychotropic medication exposure occurs in the context of maternal mental illness, a substantial risk factor for problems in child development. Four years after treatment for perinatal mental illness, maternal symptoms still persisted; even concurrent pharmacotherapy did not appear to confer protection against the ongoing influence of perinatal mental illness on early child behavior. While there are many reasons for increased externalizing behaviors at age 4 years, the association with maternal mood in this study remains an important reminder that close observation and mental health follow-up of both mother and child are essential to a healthy outcome. Perinatal mental health does not appear to be a time- or impact-limited condition.

A number of limitations to this study need to be mentioned. Our study cohort was small, and a larger sample will be needed to demonstrate group differences in behavior. Although we had a follow-up rate of approximately 50%, differences between those studied did not differ significantly from those not studied at the 4-year follow-up. In this study, we were unable to recruit and study children of depressed but not pharmacologically treated mothers; therefore, we could not directly compare the impact of maternal mood on child development with the effects of prenatal SSRI exposure. For logistical reasons, we also could not examine the impact of SSRI exposure in the absence of exposure to maternal depression. Maternal measures and a history of prenatal SSRI exposure were highly correlated; therefore, it remains difficult to draw definitive conclusions from individual measures treated as independent measures. Further, we were only able to study this cohort during the perinatal period and again at ages 4 to 5 years and could not assess the contribution of other early life exposures (such as social experience at home, preschool, etc) that may have also contributed to developmental outcomes. We only found associations between maternal observations and child behaviors. Because we could not confirm this with teacher reports, we could not independently confirm that this was not just an observatory bias. However, it could have been that our preschool observations may have been incomplete, as preschools run twice or thrice a week for 2.5 hours and some teachers may not have observed the dysfunctional behavior. Given that only 1 drug level was studied, it remains difficult to know how this relates to other levels during pregnancy and beyond or whether these levels were associated with symptomatic levels of depressed mood. The clinical use of SSRI drug levels remains one of the key questions facing clinicians and researchers alike. Finally, given that maternal depression is a common correlate of preschool behavioral problems,40 there is a close relationship between maternal depression and maternal report of child behavior. One needs to ask whether we truly observed an increased level of aggression or whether we were just observing lower maternal thresholds for tolerating preschool behavior.

In summary, our findings suggest that SSRI exposure in the second and third trimesters was not independently associated with increased parental reports of externalizing behaviors and laboratory-based observed behaviors, even when accounting for maternal mood. Importantly, depressed maternal mood at the 4 years' postpartum assessment, even following long-term perinatal SSRI therapy, was associated with increased reports of externalizing behaviors at age 4 years. Prenatal SSRI dose and length of prenatal drug exposure were not independently associated with behavioral outcomes whereas elevated umbilical cord drug levels were associated with increased parental reports of externalizing behaviors. This was also reflected in our findings showing that increased levels of laboratory-based observed measures of aggression were associated with both a history of PNA and increased maternal reports of parental stress at the 4-year follow-up. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing and treating maternal depression associated with pregnancy. Although SSRIs or other antidepressants may reduce symptoms, these findings point to the need to apply other strategies to reduce or eliminate the impact of maternal mental illness on child development and behavior.

Back to top
Article Information

Correspondence: Tim F. Oberlander, MD, FRCPC, Early Human Experience Unit, Centre for Community Child Health Research, Room L408, 4480 Oak St, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6 3V4 (toberlander@cw.bc.ca).

Accepted for Publication: August 4, 2006.

Author Contributions:Study concept and design: Oberlander, Reeybe, Misri, and Grunau. Acquisition of data: Oberlander, Reeybe, Misri, Kim, and Grunau. Analysis and interpretation of data: Oberlander, Reeybe, Papsdorf, Kim, and Grunau. Drafting of the manuscript: Oberlander, Reeybe, Misri, Papsdorf, and Grunau. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Oberlander, Reeybe, Misri, Papsdorf, Kim, and Grunau. Statistical analysis: Oberlander, Papsdorf, and Grunau. Obtained funding: Misri. Administrative, technical, and material support: Reeybe and Kim. Study supervision: Oberlander, Misri, and Reeybe.

Financial Disclosure: None reported.

Funding/Support: This work was supported by research grant BCM96-152 from the British Columbia Medical Services Foundation and by unrestricted funding (Dr Misri) for this study (protocol number 29060/830) from GlaxoSmithKline, Inc, Canada. Dr Oberlander is supported by a Human Early Learning Partnership (Graduate Studies, University of British Columbia) Senior Career Award and has the R. Howard Webster Professorship in Child Development (Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of British Columbia).

Acknowledgment: We are grateful to the mothers and their children for the time and effort in participating in our study, Dan Rurak, PhD, and Wayne Riggs, PhD, for the pharmacological data analysis, Ursula Brain, BA, and Colleen Fitzgerald for their thoughtful and dedicated work in making this study possible, and Kristin Kendrick, BA, for data processing. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of the ARCHIVES, who provided thoughtful and important comments that improved the manuscript.

References
1.
Oberlander  TFWarburton  BAghajanian  JHertzman  D Neonatal outcomes after prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants and maternal depression using population-based linked health data.  Arch Gen Psychiatry 2006;63898- 906PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
2.
Moses-Kolko  ELBogen  DPerel  J  et al.  Neonatal signs after late in utero exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitors: literature review and implications for clinical applications.  JAMA 2005;2932372- 2383PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
3.
Casper  RCFleisher  BELee-Ancajas  JC  et al.  Follow-up of children of depressed mothers exposed or not exposed to antidepressant drugs during pregnancy.  J Pediatr 2003;142402- 408PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
4.
Nulman  IRovet  JStewart  DE  et al.  Neurodevelopment of children exposed in utero to antidepressant drugs.  N Engl J Med 1997;336258- 262PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
5.
Misri  SReebye  PKendrick  K  et al.  Internalizing behaviors in 4-year-old children exposed in utero to psychotropic medications.  Am J Psychiatry 2006;1631026- 1032PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
6.
Nulman  IRovet  JStewart  DE  et al.  Child development following exposure to tricyclic antidepressants or fluoxetine throughout fetal life: a prospective, controlled study.  Am J Psychiatry 2002;1591889- 1895PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
7.
Evans  JHeron  JFrancomb  HOke  SGolding  J Cohort study of depressed mood during pregnancy and after childbirth.  BMJ 2001;323257- 260PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
8.
Weinberg  MKTronick  EZ The impact of maternal psychiatric illness on infant development.  J Clin Psychiatry 1998;59 ((suppl 2)) 53- 61PubMedGoogle Scholar
9.
O'Connor  TGHeron  JGlover  V Antenatal anxiety predicts child behavioral/emotional problems independently of postnatal depression.  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2002;411470- 1477PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
10.
Oberlander  TFMisri  SFitzgerald  CEKostaras  XRurak  DRiggs  W Pharmacologic factors associated with transient neonatal symptoms following prenatal psychotropic medication exposure.  J Clin Psychiatry 2004;65230- 237PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
11.
Oberlander  TFEckstein  GRFitzgerald  C  et al.  Prolonged prenatal psychotropic medication exposure alters neonatal acute pain response.  Pediatr Res 2002;51443- 453PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
12.
Oberlander  TFGrunau  REFitzgerald  CPapsdorf  MRurak  DRiggs  W Pain reactivity in 2-month-old infants after prenatal and postnatal serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication exposure.  Pediatrics 2005;115411- 425PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
13.
Reebye  PMorison  SJPanikkar  HMisri  SGrunau  RE Affect expression in prenatally psychotropic exposed and nonexposed mother-infant dyads.  Infant Ment Health J 2002;23403- 416Google ScholarCrossref
14.
Achenbach  TMRescorla  LA Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Forms and Profiles.  Burlington University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families2001;
15.
Crowell  JAFeldman  SS Mothers' internal models of relationships and children's behavioral and developmental status: a study of mother-child interaction.  Child Dev 1988;591273- 1285PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
16.
Crowell  JAFeldman  SS Mothers working models of attachment relationships and mother and child-behavior during separation and reunion.  Dev Psychol 1991;27597- 605Google ScholarCrossref
17.
Crowell  JAFeldman  SSGinsberg  N Assessment of mother-child interaction in preschoolers with behavior problems.  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1988;27303- 311PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
18.
Guttmann-Steinmetz  SCrowell  JA Attachment and externalizing disorders: a developmental psychopathology perspective.  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2006;45440- 451PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
19.
Aoki  YZeanah  CHHeller  SSBakshi  S Parent-infant relationship global assessment scale: a study of its predictive validity.  Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2002;56493- 497PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
20.
Hutt  CHutt  SJOunsted  C A method for the study of children's behaviour.  Dev Med Child Neurol 1963;5233- 245Google Scholar
21.
Wechsler  D Manual for the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Revised.  New York, NY Psychological Corp1989;
22.
Kim  JRiggs  KWMisri  S  et al.  Stereoselective disposition of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine during pregnancy and breast-feeding.  Br J Clin Pharmacol 2006;61155- 163PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
23.
Hamilton  M A rating scale for depression.  J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1960;2356- 62PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
24.
Hamilton  M The assessment of anxiety states by rating.  Br J Med Psychol 1959;3250- 55PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
25.
Kellner  R A symptom questionnaire.  J Clin Psychiatry 1987;48268- 274PubMedGoogle Scholar
26.
Abidin  RR Parenting Stress Index.  Charlottesville, Va Pediatric Psychology Press1990;
27.
Simon  GECunningham  MLDavis  RL Outcomes of prenatal antidepressant exposure.  Am J Psychiatry 2002;1592055- 2061PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
28.
Mattson  SNEastvold  ADJones  KLHarris  JAChambers  CD Neurobehavioral follow-up of children prenatally exposed to fluoxetine.  Teratology 1999;59376Google Scholar
29.
Field  TDiego  MDieter  J  et al.  Prenatal depression effects on the fetus and the newborn.  Infant Behav Dev 2004;27216- 229Google ScholarCrossref
30.
Paarlberg  KMVingerhoets  AJPasschier  JDekker  GAVan Geijn  HP Psychosocial factors and pregnancy outcome: a review with emphasis on methodological issues.  J Psychosom Res 1995;39563- 595PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
31.
Wadhwa  PD Psychological stress in pregnancy: an overview and implications for life-span development. Friedman  HSed Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Vol 3 San Diego, Calif Academic Press1998;Google Scholar
32.
Rothenberg  SJChicz-DeMet  ASchnaas  LKarchmer  SSalinas  VGuzman  LA Umbilical cord beta-endorphin and early childhood motor development.  Early Hum Dev 1996;4683- 95PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
33.
Huizink  ACde Medina  PGMulder  EJVisser  GHBuitelaar  JK Psychological measures of prenatal stress as predictors of infant temperament.  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2002;411078- 1085PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
34.
Martin  PRNoyes  JWisenbaker  JHuttunen  MO Prediction of early childhood negative emotionality and inhibition from maternal distress during pregnancy.  Merrill Palmer Q 1999;45370- 391Google Scholar
35.
van Os  JSelten  JP Prenatal exposure to maternal stress and subsequent schizophrenia: the May 1940 invasion of The Netherlands.  Br J Psychiatry 1998;172324- 326PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
36.
Watson  JBMednick  SAHuttunen  MWang  X Prenatal teratogens and the development of adult mental illness.  Dev Psychopathol 1999;11457- 466PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
37.
Misri  SOberlander  TFFairbrother  N  et al.  Relation between prenatal maternal mood and anxiety and neonatal health.  Can J Psychiatry 2004;49684- 689PubMedGoogle Scholar
38.
Luoma  ITamminen  TKaukonen  P  et al.  Longitudinal study of maternal depressive symptoms and child well-being.  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2001;401367- 1374PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
39.
Brennan  PAHammen  CAndersen  MJBor  WNajman  JMWilliams  GM Chronicity, severity, and timing of maternal depressive symptoms: relationships with child outcomes at age 5.  Dev Psychol 2000;36759- 766PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
40.
Weissman  MMPilowsky  DJWickramaratne  PJ  et al.  Remissions in maternal depression and child psychopathology: a STAR*D-child report.  JAMA 2006;2951389- 1398PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
×