engleski

From childbearing to childrearing: Parental mental health and infant development

Every day, around 385, 000 babies are born worldwide. Childbirth is culturally perceived as positive, yet it may be a challenging experience for mothers and fathers. It is estimated that up to one-third of parents have psychological difficulties during pregnancy and postpartum. These difficulties then often affect the relationships between the mother, co-parent, and infant. As the relationships and interactions with both parents are crucial for infant development, parental mental health difficulties may have adverse effects on the family dynamics and the infant. Furthermore, infant characteristics can also affect the relationships and interactions with their parents, making these interactions complex and important to investigate. This Research Topic “From Childbearing to Childrearing: Parental Mental Health and Infant Development” presents 15 papers - 14 original quantitative studies and one narrative review - examining the associations between parental mental health and different parenting and infant outcomes. Of the original studies, two used experimental designs, six studies had longitudinal and six cross- sectional designs. All studies included mothers, and one study included both mothers and fathers. Regarding the geographical distribution of the papers, 10 papers were from Europe, one from North America and four were international collaborations between researchers from Europe, North America, and Asia. These papers are summarized and gaps in the knowledge and directions for future research are described.

perinatal period ; mental health ; child development ; mothers ; fathers ; infant ; parenting

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