title: Inconsolable infant crying and maternal postpartum depressive symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify the extent to which maternal report of inconsolable infant crying, rather than colic (defined by Wessel's criteria of daily duration of fussing and crying >3 hours), is associated with maternal postpartum depressive symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 587 mothers who were recruited shortly before or after delivery and followed longitudinally. At 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, mothers recorded the duration and mode (fussing, crying, or inconsolable crying) of their infant's distress by using the Baby's Day Diary. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered at enrollment and at 8 weeks postpartum. Using regression models that included baseline EPDS scores and multiple confounders, we examined associations of colic and inconsolable crying with later maternal EPDS scores at 8 weeks postpartum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty mothers (10%) met the EPDS threshold for "possible depression" (score ≥9) at 8 weeks postpartum. For mothers reporting >20 minutes of inconsolable crying per day, the adjusted odds ratio for an EPDS score ≥9 was 4.0 (95% confidence interval: 2.0-8.1), whereas the adjusted odds ratio for possible depression in mothers whose infants had colic was 2.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-3.7). These associations persisted after adjusting for baseline depression symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal report of inconsolable infant crying may have a stronger association with postpartum depressive symptoms than infant colic. Asking a mother about her ability to soothe her infant may be more relevant for potential intervention than questions about crying and fussing duration alone.
authors: Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA. jenny.radesky@bmc.org
authors: Jenny S
authors: JS
authors: Radesky
authors: Barry
authors: B
authors: Zuckerman
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Silverstein
authors: Frederick P
authors: FP
authors: Rivara
authors: Marilyn
authors: M
authors: Barr
authors: James A
authors: JA
authors: Taylor
authors: Liliana J
authors: LJ
authors: Lengua
authors: Ronald G
authors: RG
authors: Barr
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D003448:Crying / Q000523:psychology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D029626:Ranunculaceae; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: colic; crying; maternal depression; prevention