Maternal Anxiety During and After Pregnancy and Infant Temperament at Three Months of Age

The purpose of the current study was to explore associations between
maternal anxiety and infant temperament. Participants (n = 60 women) completed measures of state and trait
anxiety during the third trimester of pregnancy and again three months postpartum, as well as an assessment of
infant temperament. Maternal trait anxiety predicted infant distress to novelty and limitations, and difficulty
soothing. Antenatal state anxiety predicted less infant positive affect and lower attention-span. Postnatal state
anxiety was related to infant activity level and distress to limitations. Results are discussed in terms of
conceptual mechanisms that may underlie the complex inter-associations between different types of maternal
anxiety and infant temperament. KEY WORDS: maternal anxiety, infant temperament, pregnancy, postpartum
mood.