Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2025; 15(9): 110656
Published online Sep 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i9.110656
Impact of postpartum persistent depression on infant developmental behavior and maternal self-efficacy
Shu-Juan Wu, Jing-Xian Wang, Xiu-Lei Yin, Ying He, Hui-Xian Kang
Shu-Juan Wu, Xiu-Lei Yin, Ying He, Hui-Xian Kang, Department of Obstetrics, Shijiazhuang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Jing-Xian Wang, Department of Clinical Psychology, Shijiazhuang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Wu SJ contributed to the study design, data collection, initial data analysis, and manuscript drafting; Wang JX participated in the study design, assisted in data collection, conducted part of the statistical analysis, and reviewed the manuscript; Yin XL was involved in study discussions, collected clinical data from some patients, and participated in the interpretation and validation of complex statistical models; He Y contributed to the research design, assisted in data collection and analysis, and managed the project’s daily operations; Kang HX led the overall study design, supervised data analysis, and provided academic guidance throughout the research process.
Supported by the Key Medical Research Project of Hebei Province in 2020, No. 20201360.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of The First Hospital of Jilin University (Approval Number: 20201111). All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Participants were provided with detailed information about the study's purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant prior to their inclusion in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The data sharing policy adheres to the guidelines set by The First Hospital of Jilin University and complies with relevant data protection regulations.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui-Xian Kang, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Obstetrics, Shijiazhuang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 396 Youyi South Street, Qiaoxi District, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. 13473406675@163.com
Received: June 13, 2025
Revised: July 9, 2025
Accepted: July 18, 2025
Published online: September 19, 2025
Processing time: 74 Days and 2.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This study investigates the impact of persistent postpartum depression (PPD) on infant developmental behavior and maternal self-efficacy. Utilizing the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition, we assessed 60 mother-infant dyads over a five-year period. Our findings reveal that persistent PPD significantly negatively impacts infant developmental outcomes, with maternal self-efficacy partially mediating this relationship. These insights underscore the necessity for targeted interventions addressing both depressive symptoms and enhancement of maternal self-efficacy to foster healthy infant development. This study enriches the understanding of developmental psychopathology and highlights potential targets for early intervention strategies.