A randomised trial suggests psychotherapy for depression during pregnancy may influence babies’ hippocampal development and help regulate negative emotions in early infancy.
A new study suggests that treating depression during pregnancy may do more than help the mother: it may also influence a baby’s brain development and early emotional regulation.
Researchers writing in Nature Communications found that infants born to mothers who received psychotherapy during pregnancy showed differences in the hippocampus, a region linked to memory and emotion. Those brain differences were associated with lower negative emotionality in early infancy, offering some of the strongest experimental evidence yet that prenatal mental health care can affect child development.
The work matters because depression during pregnancy is common. Medical X reported that it affects an estimated 20% to 40% of pregnant people, and past research has repeatedly linked it with later emotional and behavioural difficulties in children. But much of that evidence has been observational, making it hard to know whether the depression itself, rather than related factors, was driving the outcomes.
To address that gap, the researchers ran a randomised clinical trial known as the Care Project. Pregnant participants with elevated depressive symptoms were assigned either to eight weekly sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy, focused on relationships and social support, or to enhanced usual care, which included standard obstetric care, a psychoeducation session and information about community mental health resources. According to the study team, the infants of women who received therapy showed about a 5% difference in hippocampal development compared with those whose mothers received usual care, and that variation was linked to better emotion regulation at six months.
The findings fit with a broader body of research suggesting that untreated maternal depression can affect infants well beyond birth. A Monash-led study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that treating depression in pregnancy protected children from emotional disorders in infancy and toddlerhood, while reviews in PubMed and the American Journal of Psychiatry have described associations between untreated prenatal depression and later neurobehavioural problems, as well as the difficult balance clinicians face when weighing treatment options. Specialists at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center have also stressed that ignoring maternal depression can carry risks for both parent and child. Taken together, the new trial adds weight to the argument that prenatal mental health care is not only about supporting the mother, but may also help shape healthier developmental outcomes for the child.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
