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Multicenter Study
. 2007 May-Jun;29(3):331-40.
doi: 10.1016/j.ntt.2006.12.001. Epub 2006 Dec 14.

Prenatal cocaine use and maternal depression: effects on infant neurobehavior

Amy L Salisbury  1 , Barry M Lester, Ronald Seifer, Linda Lagasse, Charles R Bauer, Seetha Shankaran, Henrietta Bada, Linda Wright, Jing Liu, Ken Poole
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Prenatal cocaine use and maternal depression: effects on infant neurobehavior

Amy L Salisbury et al. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2007 May-Jun.

Erratum in

  • Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2009 Jan-Feb;31(1):69

Abstract

Objective: The present study examined the impact of both perinatal maternal depression and cocaine use on infant neurobehavior at 1 month of age in a large, multi-site study.

Methods: Infant neurobehavior was examined in 1053 infants at 1 month of age using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS). Mothers were interviewed using The Addiction Severity Index to determine present and past psychiatric history. Four groups were derived from the total sample: 385 prenatally cocaine-exposed infants, 76 whose mothers reported current postpartum depression (DEP/COC) and 309 without current postpartum depression (nonDEP/COC); 668 infants were not exposed to cocaine, 104 whose mothers reported current postpartum depression (DEP/nonCOC), 564 without current postpartum depression (nonDEP/nonCOC). A 2x2 Analysis of Covariance was used with covariates (birthweight, maternal age, SES, nicotine, alcohol, and research site) to examine infant neurobehavior in these four conditions. Secondary analyses were conducted to examine the effects of amount and timing of prenatal cocaine exposure.

Results: DEP group by COC exposure status interactions were significant; there was only a DEP effect in the nonCOC infants. Infants in the nonCOC/DEP group had poorer self-regulation and more stress signs, excitability, and arousal than infants in the other groups.

Conclusions: Postpartum maternal depression has negative effects on infant neurobehavior at 1 month of age. Prenatal cocaine exposure may serve to suppress or buffer the effects of postpartum depression on infant neurobehavior. Maternal mood could explain some of the inconsistencies found in the prenatal cocaine exposure literature.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Amount of cocaine exposure during pregnancy reported for the DEP and nonDEP groups
Maternal report of the mean number of days using cocaine per week. PP=first 30 days postpartum
Figure 2
Figure 2. NNNS scores for the DEP and nonDEP group in each COC use group
a. Self Regulation b. Stress c. Arousal d. Excitability *p<.05, **p<.01,; Significant differences on post-hoc Tukey HSD tests
Figure 2
Figure 2. NNNS scores for the DEP and nonDEP group in each COC use group
a. Self Regulation b. Stress c. Arousal d. Excitability *p<.05, **p<.01,; Significant differences on post-hoc Tukey HSD tests
Figure 2
Figure 2. NNNS scores for the DEP and nonDEP group in each COC use group
a. Self Regulation b. Stress c. Arousal d. Excitability *p<.05, **p<.01,; Significant differences on post-hoc Tukey HSD tests
Figure 2
Figure 2. NNNS scores for the DEP and nonDEP group in each COC use group
a. Self Regulation b. Stress c. Arousal d. Excitability *p<.05, **p<.01,; Significant differences on post-hoc Tukey HSD tests
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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