Branham 1

Mary Branham

Maggie Guy

PSYC 420 003

31 January 2017

Article Assignment 1: Maternal Depression Impacting Children

The researchers behind this study have the intentions of expanding the knowledge of

neurodevelopment of children with mothers taking antidepressants during pregnancy,

specifically, Venlafaxine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The research method used

is quasi-experimental because it is examining pre-existing variables, such as depression. The

drugs being tested in this study have been known to harm fetal development, to the point of

having a stillbirth, so the hypothesis is not positive. The findings however, were not nearly to

that point of devastation and will be useful in the medical field.

This quasi-experimental design uses participants recruited from the Motherisk program at

the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. The people from this program are women

who had received counseling on the safety of taking medications while pregnant, such as

antidepressants. From this group of women, those who fit the criteria are grouped accordingly.

Group 1 consists of 62 participants who take Venlafaxine during pregnancy. Group 2 consists of

62 participants who take SSRIs during pregnancy. Group 3 consists of 54 participants who

experienced untreated depression during pregnancy. Group 4 consists of 62 participants of

healthy women who are found through Motherisk, as well.

Once all of the participants are determined the independent variable of maternal

depression and treatments is ready to be tested to see how they influence the children’s

neurocognitive and behavioral abilities. Depression in the mothers is defined by the DSM-IV
 Branham 2

and diagnosed by their psychiatrists. The treated women (groups 1-2), had the severity of their

depression recorded throughout their pregnancy and after delivery, via a 10-point visual

analogue scale. During the children’s examination, they had anthropometric measurements

recorded by physicians. To evaluate the children’s neurocognitive functioning, the children were

scored on The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Third Edition, which

measured full-scale IQ, verbal IQ, and performance IQ. The mothers from all four groups

completed the Child Behavior checklist, and Conners’ Parenting Scale to determine their

children’s behavioral patterns. These test measured the children’s rate of internalizing, and

externalizing problems, and total problems. The mothers from all four groups also had their

intelligence, socioeconomic status, and income measured as possible confounding variables.

The results did not deviate significantly between the groups. The children from all

groups had similar anthropometric measures, but the children exposed to antidepressants had

11.3% diagnosed with poor neonatal adaptation signs. The children’s IQs were directly

correlated with their mother’s and the girls scored slightly higher than the boys, regardless of

what groups they were in. Behavioral, children in groups 1-3 had significantly more behavior

problems in all three categories; the more severe the mother’s depression during pregnancy the

more severe the behavior. Maternal depression was the common factor in the children’s

behavior problems, while neither duration of maternal antidepressant treatment during

pregnancy, child’s sex, child’s age, nor maternal IQ were common factors, making for a strong

conclusion that maternal depression on its own, whether being pharmacologically treated or not,

can cause at least a predisposition of behavioral problems in their children. However, this is only

a quasi-experimental research design so internal validity is not as strong as it could be in an

experiment where cause-and-effect are proven.

 Branham 3

This article is relevant to class because it is a real life example on how different fetal

environments can impact development post-birth. This research is important in the real world,

because it the first study to specifically examine an initial outcome on children’s intelligence

from mothers who took antidepressants during their pregnancy. Although this study does not

provide all of the answers, its importance is found in the beginning of this research that effects

many depressed and treated pregnant women and the future of their children’s wellbeing.
 Branham 4

Works Cited

Nulman, I., Gideon Koren, Joanne Rovet, Maru Barrera, Ariel Pulver, David Streiner, Brain

Feldman. “Neurodevelopment of Children Following Prenatal Exposure to Venlafaxine,

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or Untreated Maternal Depression.” American

Journal of Psychiatry 13. 56 (2012): 1165-74). Web. 16 Jan. 2017.