Prolactin, a potential mediator of reduced social interactive behavior in newborn infants following maternal perinatal depressive symptoms.

Abstract

The hormone prolactin (PRL) plays a crucial role for the initiation and maintenance of maternal behavior, and is also associated with the etiology of mood disorders in women, especially for depression. The present study aimed to determine whether maternal peripheral prolactin would be associated with newborn behavior disorders following maternal perinatal depressive symptoms, and further to explore the efficacy of the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) in improving newborn social interactive behavior.