Partnership Quality and Maternal Depressive Symptoms across the perinatal Period: A prospective Cohort Study

Abstract Purpose. Maternal depression during pregnancy and postpartum is a frequent mental disorder exerting detrimental effects on affected mothers and their infants. A dysfunctional partner relationship during this critical period is recognized as a risk factor for maternal depressiveness. However, the causal relation between partnership quality and perinatal maternal depression has been sparsely studied so far. The current study aims to longitudinally assess relationship quality from pregnancy to postpartum and to test a potential association with maternal perinatal symptoms of depression.Methods. Differing from previous studies, partnership quality and symptoms of depression have been assessed prospectively and longitudinally in a sample of 353 women from the second trimester of pregnancy until six months postpartum. Cross-lagged panel models were applied to investigate the causal relationship between partnership quality and perinatal maternal depressive symptoms.Results. Relationship quality decreased significantly during the transition to parenthood with the steepest decline in tenderness. We found a significant association of relationship quality and maternal symptoms of depression. However, cross-lagged panel models did not confirm the discovered association as causal.Conclusions. The results outline that the transition to parenthood is associated with major changes in the couple’s relationship. However, the cause-and-effect associations may be more complex as previously assumed. Our findings emphasize the importance of providing early prevention and intervention for peripartum women and their partners to improve relationship quality and to prevent adverse outcome for the family.