Use of the PURPLE education materials seem to lead to higher scores in knowledge about early infant crying and the dangers of shaking, and in sharing of information behaviors considered to be important for the prevention of shaking.

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Studies reveal that mothers of infants with colic (defined by Wessel' s criteria of .3 hours per day of distress) are more likely to develop depression. No studies have examined whether the consolability of infant crying predicts maternal depression risk.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Prolonged inconsolable infant crying has a stronger association with maternal depressive symptoms than overall daily duration of fussing and crying, suggesting that a mother' s report of inability to soothe her infant may be a powerful indicator of her depression risk. abstract OBJECTIVE: To quantify the extent to which maternal report of inconsolable infant crying, rather than colic (defined by Wessel' s criteria of daily duration of fussing and crying .3 hours), is associated with maternal postpartum depressive symptoms.METHODS: Participants were 587 mothers who were recruited shortly before or after delivery and followed longitudinally. At 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, mothers recorded the duration and mode (fussing, crying, or inconsolable crying) of their infant' s distress by using the Baby' s Day Diary. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered at enrollment and at 8 weeks postpartum. Using regression models that included baseline EPDS scores and multiple confounders, we examined associations of colic and inconsolable crying with later maternal EPDS scores at 8 weeks postpartum. RESULTS:Sixty mothers (10%) met the EPDS threshold for "possible depression" (score $9) at 8 weeks postpartum. For mothers reporting .20 minutes of inconsolable crying per day, the adjusted odds ratio for an EPDS score $9 was 4.0 (95% confidence interval: 2.0-8.1), whereas the adjusted odds ratio for possible depression in mothers whose infants had colic was 2.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-3.7). These associations persisted after adjusting for baseline depression symptoms.CONCLUSIONS: Maternal report of inconsolable infant crying may have a stronger association with postpartum depressive symptoms than infant colic. Asking a mother about her ability to soothe her infant may be more relevant for potential intervention than questions about crying and fussing duration alone.

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