Prenatal and postnatal maternal depression and child brain development

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to increased symptoms of depression in pregnant individuals, with 37% of individuals experiencing elevated symptoms during the pandemic, compared to 12% before the pandemic. Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after pregnancy can lead to behavioural problems in children and altered brain structure in regions of the brain that control emotions. The relationship between maternal depressive symptoms during different time points in pregnancy/postpartum and growth of the child brain over time remains unclear. The objective of this work is to identify how a pregnant mother's depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy might influence child brain growth in infants and in preschool-aged children. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured during pregnancy and after birth. Structural brain data were collected at multiple time points in preschool-aged children between 2.5 and 8 years of age using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before the pandemic. Brain images from infants born to mothers during the pandemic will be obtained at 3 months and 12 months of age. Volume and thickness of brain regions involved in emotional control such as the amygdala and hippocampus will be measured, and connections between these regions and frontal areas of the brain will be quantified and observed. Relationships between maternal depressive symptoms in pregnancy and the postnatal period and child brain structure will then be investigated. Through this work we will identify when in pregnancy screening and interventions may be most effective in order to improve outcomes for children and their mothers. This will be one of the first studies to observe the developing brains of infant children born during the pandemic.