title: The normalisation of disrupted attentional processing of infant distress in depressed pregnant women following Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal depression is associated with abnormal processing of infant distress. This may explain why depression disrupts maternal behaviour and ultimately child outcomes. Understanding and improving such processing, in depressed mothers as early as possible is thus important.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The focus of the current study was to investigate whether Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) normalises depressed pregnant women's abnormal attentional processing of infant distress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Depressed pregnant women participating in a randomised control trial completed a measure of attentional bias for infant distress before and after intervention. Women received either CBT (n=12) or usual care [UC] (n=12) between their first and last trimesters of pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, depressed women in both arms showed a diminished attentional bias for infant distress compared to a non-depressed comparison group (n=51). Following intervention attentional biases of women who received CBT increased becoming comparable to non-depressed women. In contrast there was no improvement in the UC arm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If replicated, the findings may suggest that CBT during pregnancy improves mother's basic processing of infant stimuli before their child is born.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sample size was relatively small and there was some loss to follow up between the pre and post intervention sessions.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Psychiatry, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK. Rebecca.pearson@bristol.ac.uk
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: O'Mahen
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Kristinna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bennert
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.forename: Davina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome