Early postnatal maternal trait anxiety is associated with the behavioural outcomes of children born preterm <33 weeks

Abstract

Maternal ante- and postnatal anxiety have been associated with children's socio-emotional development. Moreover, maternal anxiety has been studied as both a contributing factor and consequence of preterm birth, and children born preterm are more likely to develop behavioural problems compared to term-born controls. This study investigated the association between maternal anxiety measured soon after birth and mental health in 215 ex-preterm children, born at <33 weeks, who participated in the Evaluation of Preterm Imaging Study. Children were followed-up at a median age of 4.6 years (range 4.2–6.6), and received behavioural and cognitive evaluation. Maternal trait anxiety was assessed with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Index at term corrected age. Primary outcome measures were children's Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) scores, indicative of generalised psychopathology and autism symptomatology, respectively. IQ was assessed with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence. The final sample, after excluding participants with missing data and multiple pregnancy ( n = 75), consisted of 140 children (51.4% male). Results showed that increased maternal trait anxiety at term corrected age was associated with children's higher SDQ scores (β = 0.25, 95% CI 0.09–0.41, p = 0.003, f 2 = 0.08) and SRS-2 scores (β = 0.15, 95% CI 0.02–0.28, p = 0.03, f 2 = 0.04). Our findings indicate that children born preterm whose mothers are more anxious in the early postnatal period may show poorer mental health outcomes at pre-school age. Further research is needed to investigate preventative measures that can be offered to high-risk premature babies and their families.

Neonatal amygdala resting-state functional connectivity and socio-emotional development in very preterm children

“…The IMD measures social risk by comparing each neighbourhood to all others in the country and is based on seven domains of deprivation: income, employment, education skills and training, health and disability, barriers to housing and services, living environment and crime. Maternal education was defined as age upon leaving full-time education, divided into two categories: (i) at or before 19 years and (ii) after 19 years, 53 as in the UK, this cutoff coincides with the completion of graduate studies. 54 …”

Parents’ Experiences of the First Year at Home with an Infant Born Extremely Preterm with and without Post-Discharge Intervention: Ambivalence, Loneliness, and Relationship Impact

“…Quantitative studies of post-discharge parental experiences have described depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress-disorder, and anxiety [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. In children born EPT these psychiatric symptoms of the parent may affect the child’s outcomes at preschool age with regard to social and behavioral development [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Hence, understanding and caring as a parental experience affects the adult directly and the child indirectly.…”

Neonatal White Matter Microstructure and Emotional Development during the Preschool Years in Children Who Were Born Very Preterm

“…The IMD measures social risk by comparing each neighborhood to all others in the country and is based on seven domains of deprivation (with varying weighting, as follows): income (22.5%), employment (22.5%), education skills and training (13.5%), health and disability (13.5%), barriers to housing and services (9.3%), living environment (9.3%), and crime (9.3%). Maternal education was defined as age on leaving full-time education, split into two groups (1) at or before 19 years; (2) after 19 years ( Kleine et al, 2020 ).…”