2002 International International Biennial Scientific Meeting

IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN ANTENATAL MATERNAL STRESS AND ANXIETY AND INFANT TEMPERAMENT? PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Austin M-P, Saint K, Leader L and Hadzi-Pavlovic D

Royal Hospital for Women, School of Psychiatry and School of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New South Wales

m.austin@unsw.edu.au

Aim: To evaluate the relationship between maternal anxiety in pregnancy, and reported infant temperament at 4 months.

Method: We measured at 30 weeks gestation, maternal trait anxiety (using the STAI). Infant temperament was evaluated using the Short Infant Temperament Questionnaire (SITQ) which was filled out independently by mother and father.

Results: Of 1,030 families recruited at 30 weeks gestation, 496 mothers and 432 fathers returned the SITQ at 4 months post-partum.

a) Maternal analyses: a modest (-0.22) but significant (p = 0.01) correlation was found between the STAI and SITQ (infant irritability). The correlation remained significant after partialling out for maternal "distress" (using the Edinburgh score) at 4 months post-partum, suggesting that "difficult" infant temperament was not merely an artefact of maternal state at the time of reporting. Linear regression analysis indicated that the STAI was significant at the 0.017 level after covarying for obstetric complications, Edinburgh score at 4 months, years of education and smoking. Binary regression analysis (using STAI . 36 and EDS> 3.14), revealed an OR of 2.2 (p=0.036) for the STAI; this was no longer significant (OR 1.9, p= 0.09) when maternal Edinburgh score > 12 at 4 months, was entered.

b) Paternal analyses: corroborated maternal findings.

Conclusions: Results suggest there may be a relationship between maternal anxiety in pregnancy and infant temperament. These need to be confirmed in a larger sample. If they hold true, it remains to be determined whether this relationship is mediated through the HPA axis or genetically remains to be determined.