Much is said about the effects of maternal stress on the present and future health of the baby, however, a new study conducted by members of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London (United Kingdom) and the Institute for Health and Welfare, have looked at how parental stress affects the emotional and behavioral problems of children at age two.
The research, reported in the Journal of Child Psychology, Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, indicates that children of parents who have experienced high levels of stress before and after childbirth may be more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems at the age of 24 months, known as “the terrible twos”, and that manifest in tantrums, greater propensity to cry, the continued use of ‘no’, and even aggressiveness
Among the options that researchers are considering to point out this association are paternal behaviors with children due to their stress levels or the impact on maternal behaviors. In addition, they believe that parental stress does not diminish over time, but that the return to work after work permits associated with paternity, the sleeping problems caused by babies and the increasingly evident behavioral difficulties could also come to contribute to the development of these behaviors in children.
Going back to work or lack of sleep could increase parental stress
To reach these conclusions, the authors took data from a Finnish birth cohort that included 901 fathers and 939 mothers, who filled out questionnaires about their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy, three stages of the postpartum period between birth and 35 or 40 days later – and a final interview at two years in which they indicated the possible problems of their children.
Stress levels were rated on a 20-point scale, with 10 or more being high stress levels. 7% of the parents in the study presented a lot of stress in the early perinatal stages, a percentage that increased to 10% once the baby had been delivered.
“Men may be reluctant to seek help or express their needs during this time and may feel left out of the maternal approach to perinatal services”
The strongest association they found was between paternal stress at three months postpartum and increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems in children, even when maternal stress, depression and anxiety were taken into account. Although the mechanisms behind this association are still unknown.
However, the authors speculate that stress could cause “emotional or physical unavailability with the child, negative parenting style, relationship conflict, impact on the mother’s mental health, or a combination of these,” which may trigger your child’s problems.
“Our study found that parental stress makes a unique contribution to child outcomes, particularly during the early postpartum months. However, men may be reluctant to seek help or express their needs during this time and may feel left out of the maternal approach to perinatal services,” said Dr Fiona Challacombe, lead author of the study.
In any case, it appears that the link between perinatal paternal stress and emotional problems at age two was more correlational than causal, meaning it’s not clear which causes the other.
Furthermore, it adds that “an explicit effort may be required to engage parents in discussions about the types of support they may need to manage stress and well-being and help prevent future difficulties for their children in what could be a delicate stage of development.
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