How Maternal Depression Shapes Emotional Health in Children

Sunday, January 5, 2025.

Depression’s impact goes far beyond the personal, often affecting the delicate bonds between mother and child.

Research published in Development and Psychopathology highlights how maternal depressive symptoms may influence toddlers’ emotional well-being through early interactions.

This study prompts us to consider how cultural norms, caregiving practices, and access to mental health resources affect the transmission of depressive tendencies across generations.

Understanding Depression’s Ripple Effects

Depression is a multifaceted mental health condition that impacts emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being.

Symptoms include persistent sadness, feelings of hopelessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and disruptions in sleep or appetite.

When these symptoms appear in new mothers, especially during the postpartum period, they can profoundly affect caregiving behaviors. This disruption in maternal-infant bonding has long-term consequences for a child’s emotional development.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Depression

Research has established that children exposed to maternal depression are more likely to develop internalizing behaviors such as anxiety and depression, as well as externalizing behaviors like aggression.

Schmitt and colleagues (2025) take this understanding further by exploring how mothers’ responses to their infants’ positive emotions shape children’s emotional health.

The Study: Maternal Depression and Early Interactions

Methodology and Findings

The study observed 128 mother-infant pairs in Toronto, Canada, over three time points:

• Early Infancy (6–7 months): Mothers’ depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

• Late Infancy (12 months): Video recordings captured how mothers responded to their infants’ positive emotions during structured play.

• Toddlerhood (20 months): Toddler depressive symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist.

Results:

• Mothers with elevated depressive symptoms displayed fewer supportive responses to their infants’ positive emotions.

• Infants who received fewer supportive responses were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms in toddlerhood.

• The relationship between maternal and toddler depressive symptoms was mediated by the mother’s supportive responses, suggesting that responsiveness is a key mechanism in emotional development.

Cultural Contexts of Maternal Depression

• Motherhood Expectations Across Cultures

  In individualistic societies like the United States and Canada, where mothers often bear the primary caregiving burden, postpartum depression can be particularly isolating.

  However, In collectivist cultures, extended family networks may provide a buffer, offering additional support for mothers and infants.

  However, these benefits depend on the quality of familial relationships and cultural openness to discussing mental health (WHO, 2021).

• Access to Mental Health Resources

  Global disparities in access to mental health care affect maternal depression’s impact.

  For example, high-income countries often offer therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication, but stigma prevents many from seeking help. In lower-income countries, maternal mental health services are often nonexistent, leaving families vulnerable (Rahman et al., 2013).

• Cultural Norms in Emotional Expression

  Parenting styles and emotional expression vary widely across cultures.

  For example, in cultures that discourage open emotional expression, mothers may internalize depressive symptoms, limiting their emotional availability to their children.

  Conversely, cultures encouraging emotional openness may provide more opportunities for mothers to model healthy emotional regulation.

Breaking the Cycle: Prevention and Intervention

Addressing maternal depression is critical not only for the mother’s well-being but also for fostering emotionally resilient children. Here are actionable strategies:

Routine Screening

Screening for postpartum depression during pediatric visits can identify at-risk mothers early. Integrating maternal mental health services into routine care can significantly improve outcomes (Grote et al., 2010).

Parenting Support Programs

Programs such as Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) have demonstrated effectiveness in strengthening the parent-child bond and improving emotional outcomes (Lieberman et al., 2005).

Community and Peer Support

Peer support groups and culturally sensitive community health programs can help reduce the stigma of maternal depression, especially in underserved populations (Rahman et al., 2013).

Public Awareness Campaigns

Public health campaigns can normalize conversations about postpartum depression, encouraging mothers to seek help without fear of judgment. Initiatives like the WHO’s World Maternal Mental Health Day raise awareness globally.

Final Thoughts

Maternal mental health has a profound impact on children’s emotional development.

Understanding the cultural, social, and economic factors that influence this relationship is crucial for designing effective interventions.

When public health organizations address maternal depression early, it’s possible to weaken or even break the cycle of intergenerational transmission and nurture emotionally resilient families.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:

Grote, N. K., Bridge, J. A., Gavin, A. R., Melville, J. L., Iyengar, S., & Katon, W. J. (2010). A meta-analysis of depression during pregnancy and the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and intrauterine growth restriction. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(10), 1012–1024. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.111

Lieberman, A. F., Van Horn, P., & Ippen, C. G. (2005). Toward evidence-based treatment: Child-parent psychotherapy with preschoolers exposed to marital violence. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(12), 1241–1248. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000181047.59702.58

Rahman, A., Surkan, P. J., Cayetano, C. E., Rwagatare, P., & Dickson, K. E. (2013). Grand challenges: Integrating maternal mental health into maternal and child health programmes. PLOS Medicine, 10(5), e1001442. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001442

Schmitt, G., Jamieson, B., Lim, D., & Atkinson, L. (2025). Intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms: Maternal socialization of infant positive affect as a mediator. Development and Psychopathology.

World Health Organization. (2021). Maternal mental health. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mental-health