Mothers’ postpartum psychological adjustment and infantile colic

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2006-05, Vol.91 (5), p.417-419
• Main Authors: Akman, I, Kuşçu, K, Özdemir, N, Yurdakul, Z, Solakoglu, M, Orhan, L, Karabekiroglu, A, Özek, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdominal pain in children; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Age; Anxiety; Anxiety - etiology; Attachment Behavior; attachment style; Babies; Biological and medical sciences; Cesarean Section; Chi-Square Distribution; Colic; Crying; Depression, Postpartum - diagnosis; Development and progression; Families & family life; Female; General aspects; Humans; Infant, Newborn; infantile colic; Infants; Longitudinal studies; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Miscellaneous; Mother and infant; Mother-Child Relations; Mother-infant relations; Mothers; Newborn babies; Pediatric abdominal pain; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Prevention and actions; Prospective Studies; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Short Report; Studies; Young Children
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/adc.2005.083790

Background: Infantile colic is a common problem of early infancy. There is limited data on the relation between postpartum maternal psychological problems and colic. Aim:: To investigate whether infantile colic is associated with postpartum mood disorders or insecure adult attachment style of the mother. Methods: Seventy eight mothers and newborns were enrolled in this prospective, longitudinal study. Maternal depressive symptoms were screened with Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Score (EPDS) and maternal anxiety was assessed with State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The Adult Attachment Scale was used to determine the attachment style of the mother. Infantile colic was defined according to Wessel criteria. Results: Infantile colic was present in 17 infants (21.7%); 12.9% of the mothers had an EPDS ⩾13. The mean EPDS of the mothers whose infants had infantile colic (10.2±6.0) was significantly higher than that of the mothers of infants without colic (6.3±4.0). Among infants with infantile colic, 62.5% had mothers who had insecure attachment style, whereas only 31.1% of mothers had insecure attachment when the infant did not have infantile colic. Conclusion: Postpartum maternal depressive symptoms and insecure attachment style are associated with infantile colic. Screening and early intervention of postpartum depression might promote the health of both the mother and infant.