Benevolent Childhood Experiences and Childhood Maltreatment History: Examining their Roles in Depressive Symptoms Across the Peripartum Period.

Peripartum depressive symptoms are associated with a range of adverse outcomes for offspring and mothers. Childhood experiences, both negative and positive, may impact peripartum depression risk. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine trajectories of change in depression across the peripartum and predictors of symptoms across time. We examined the associations between women's reports of specific childhood experiences and trajectories of depressive symptoms across the peripartum period. Participants were 208 pregnant women ( M age=30.31, SD =5.45, range=20-45 years) at the prenatal session. Participants completed follow up sessions approximately 1 month and 6 months postpartum. At baseline, participants completed questionnaire measures of benevolent childhood experiences, childhood maltreatment, and depressive symptoms. Greater benevolent childhood experiences were associated with lower depressive symptoms across the peripartum period. The association with postpartum symptoms remained significant even when covarying antepartum depressive symptoms, indicating that benevolent childhood experiences may protect against postpartum depressive symptoms even after accounting for earlier symptoms. We did not find significant associations between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. These findings extend previous research on benevolent childhood experiences by offering insight into unique associations with symptoms across the peripartum period.