Peer-reviewed article
Academic performance in children of mothers with perinatal depressive disorder.
Tusa BS, Alati R, Ayano G, Dachew B ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether children whose mothers experienced depression during pregnancy or after birth had lower academic performance. Using linked hospital and school records from New South Wales, Australia, researchers tracked over 1 million children and their literacy and numeracy test results. Children whose mothers had perinatal depression were more likely to not meet national standards in reading, spelling, writing and grammar, but not in numeracy. The associations were stronger for antenatal depression than postnatal depression, suggesting that depression during pregnancy may have a particular impact on children's cognitive development.
Key points
- Maternal perinatal depressive disorders were associated with increased odds of children not meeting national minimum standards in reading (OR=1.24), spelling (OR=1.28), writing (OR=1.32) and grammar (OR=1.18)
- No association was found between maternal perinatal depression and numeracy performance
- Associations were more consistent for antenatal depression than postnatal depression
- Postnatal depression was associated only with reading and writing outcomes
- Early gestational exposure to maternal depression may affect foundational cognitive and socio-emotional development
Limitations
This is an observational study using administrative data, so causation cannot be definitively established and unmeasured confounding factors may explain some of the associations. The study does not examine the mechanisms by which maternal depression affects child academic outcomes.
Abstract
Background Maternal perinatal depression is a well-established risk factor for adverse child developmental outcomes; however, its long-term association with academic achievement remains unclear. This study examined its association with children's academic performance across multiple stages of schooling. Methods Data were drawn from the New South Wales Perinatal Data Collection, linked with the New South Wales Admitted Patient Data Collection and the New South Wales National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy. Maternal perinatal depressive disorders were identified from hospital admission records using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Australian Modification codes. Academic performance was assessed using the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy results in Grades 3, 5 and 7. Outcomes were classified as meeting or not meeting the national minimum standards in reading, spelling, writing, grammar and numeracy. Generalised estimating equations and propensity score matching were applied to examine associations. Results After adjustment and matching, maternal perinatal depressive disorders were associated with increased odds of children not meeting the national minimum standards in reading (odds ratio = 1.24, 95% confidence interval = [1.10, 1.41]), spelling (odds ratio = 1.28, 95% confidence interval = [1.13, 1.46]), writing (odds ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval = [1.19, 1.47]) and grammar (odds ratio = 1.18, 95% confidence interval = [1.06, 1.33]), but not numeracy (odds ratio = 1.10, 95% confidence interval = [0.96, 1.27]). Associations were more consistent for antenatal depression, while postnatal depression was associated with reading and writing only. Conclusions Children of mothers with perinatal depressive disorders showed an association with suboptimal academic performance, particularly in literacy-related domains. The stronger associations observed for antenatal depression suggest that early gestational exposure may affect foundational cognitive and socio-emotional development, highlighting the importance of timely identification and treatment of maternal depression during pregnancy to support long-term educational outcomes.