Impact of postpartum persistent depression on infant developmental behavior and maternal self-efficacy

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) represents a significant public health concern, adversely affecting both new mothers and their infants. Despite routine early screening, PPD can persist beyond the initial postpartum months, with notably high incidence rates even one year after childbirth. Persistent PPD has been associated with poor developmental outcomes in infants, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and support during this critical period. Understanding the broader impacts of persistent PPD is essential for developing effective interventions to improve maternal and infant well-being. AIM To explore the impact of persistent PPD on infant developmental behavior and maternal self-efficacy. METHODS We recruited 60 postpartum women who experienced persistent depression after childbirth in our hospital from January 2020 to December 2024 as the research subjects. The study collected basic characteristics of both infants and mothers, analyzed the self-efficacy of the mothers and the developmental behaviors of the infants, and conducted a correlation analysis to examine the relationship between postpartum persistent depression in mothers and the developmental behaviors and self-efficacy of infants. The Bootstrap method was used to verify the significance of the mediating effect. RESULTS The basic characteristics of infants and mothers show that 53.33% are male, 58.33% are born via vaginal delivery, 88.33% have a normal body mass index, 51.67% are aged between 25 and 29 years, 70% are non-agricultural workers, 51.67% have a per capita household income over 4000 yuan, 96.67% are full-term births, and 58.33% of the fathers are aged between 26 and 32 years. In terms of infant development behavior, the gross motor skills score is relatively low (38.44 ± 12.15). Regarding maternal self-efficacy, the skill score (45.68 ± 5.49) and mental activity score (46.37 ± 3.72) are both at a low level. Correlation analysis reveals that postpartum persistent depression is significantly negatively correlated with maternal self-efficacy and infant development behavior (β = -0.439, -0.657, P < 0.001), while self-efficacy is positively correlated with infant development behavior (β = 0.728, P < 0.001). The path coefficient and Bootstrap method test indicate that self-efficacy acts as a mediator between postpartum persistent depression and infant development behavior, accounting for 54.80% of the effect (P < 0.05), while the direct effect of postpartum persistent depression on infant development behavior is 45.20% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Persistent PPD significantly negatively impacts infant developmental outcomes, with maternal self-efficacy serving as a partial mediator. These findings suggest that interventions targeting both depressive symptoms and self-enhancement may effectively promote infant health development.