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POSTPARTUM BLUES: A MARKER OF EARLY NEONATAL ORGANIZATION?
Author(s) -
Bydlowski Sarah,
Lalanne Christophe,
Golse Bernard,
VaivreDouret Laurence
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21410
Subject(s) - blues , irritability , psychology , developmental psychology , postpartum depression , medicine , clinical psychology , psychiatry , pregnancy , cognition , art , biology , genetics , art history
Postpartum blues may promote a certain openness to emotional exchange between mother and her infant. Groups of mothers were assembled according to various types of emotional expression demonstrated during early postpartum. Links between mothers’ groups and newborns’ neuropsychomotor characteristics were assessed. Twenty‐one mother–infant dyads were included at maternity wards. A semistructured interview was established to identify symptoms of the blues and classify mothers into clinical groups: ordinary and emotionally mixed postpartum blues (OB); sad, intense, and lasting blues; or without blues. Newborns were examined using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (T.B. Brazelton & J.K. Nugent, [Brazelton, T.B., 1995]). Cluster analysis revealed a two‐class structure, where 78% of women with OB were found to belong to the same class, with a higher median score on newborn “hand‐to‐mouth activity” which correlated to self‐quieting activity, heightened regulation of awake states, decreased need for adult support, better defensive movements, greater attentiveness, and diminished irritability. The acquired faculties demonstrated by newborns whose mothers experience OB reflect a distinct skillset of neuropsychomotor maturity.