TY - JOUR
T1 - Gestational diabetes mellitus and its impact on the mother-infant relationship
T2 - A cohort study in the postnatal period
AU - Benton, Madeleine
AU - Davies , Megan
AU - Ismail, Khalida
AU - Lenzi, Jacopo
N1 - Funding Information:
MB and KI are part funded by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.'
Funding Information:
The authors would like to sincerely thank the women who volunteered their time to take part in this research. MB and KI are part funded by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.'
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of poor perinatal mental health outcomes. However, the association between GDM and the mother–infant relationship is unclear. This study aimed to examine whether GDM itself impacts the mother–infant relationship and maternal mental health using a cohort study design. We used data from the Cohort of Newborns in Emilia-Romagna (CoNER) study, which included 642 women recruited in Bologna, Italy. Psychological data were collected at 6 and 15 months postnatally using a purpose designed measure to examine the mother–infant relationship. We used linear fixed effects and mixed-effects models to assess the effect of GDM on relationship scores at 6 and 15 months postpartum. Women with GDM had significantly lower relationship scores at 15 months postpartum [β − 1.75 95% CrI (−3.31; −0.21)] but not at 6 months [β − 0.27 95% CrI (−1.37; 0.81)]. Mother–infant relationship scores were significantly lower overall at 15 months compared to 6 months postpartum [β − 0.29 95% CrI (−0.56; −0.02)]. Our findings suggest that there may be a delayed effect on the mother–infant relationship in response to the experience of GDM. Future research using large birth cohorts should investigate this further to confirm these findings, and whether women with GDM would benefit from early interventions to improve relationships taking into account length of time postpartum.
AB - Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of poor perinatal mental health outcomes. However, the association between GDM and the mother–infant relationship is unclear. This study aimed to examine whether GDM itself impacts the mother–infant relationship and maternal mental health using a cohort study design. We used data from the Cohort of Newborns in Emilia-Romagna (CoNER) study, which included 642 women recruited in Bologna, Italy. Psychological data were collected at 6 and 15 months postnatally using a purpose designed measure to examine the mother–infant relationship. We used linear fixed effects and mixed-effects models to assess the effect of GDM on relationship scores at 6 and 15 months postpartum. Women with GDM had significantly lower relationship scores at 15 months postpartum [β − 1.75 95% CrI (−3.31; −0.21)] but not at 6 months [β − 0.27 95% CrI (−1.37; 0.81)]. Mother–infant relationship scores were significantly lower overall at 15 months compared to 6 months postpartum [β − 0.29 95% CrI (−0.56; −0.02)]. Our findings suggest that there may be a delayed effect on the mother–infant relationship in response to the experience of GDM. Future research using large birth cohorts should investigate this further to confirm these findings, and whether women with GDM would benefit from early interventions to improve relationships taking into account length of time postpartum.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161313750&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102270
DO - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102270
M3 - Article
SN - 2211-3355
VL - 34
JO - Preventive Medicine Reports
JF - Preventive Medicine Reports
M1 - 102270
ER -