LA NASCITA PRETERMINE E LA SINTOMATOLOGIA DEPRESSIVA MATERNA NEL PRIMO ANNO DI VITA DEL BAMBINO

A premature birth can result in increased vulnerability to mental health problems for parents, in particular for mothers, more involved in the infants' caregiving. In this context, perinatal postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common disorders with important consequences for the building of dyadic relationship and for infants' development. With these premises, this review is aimed at summarizing the empirical literature of the last 10 years on perinatal postpartum depression in mothers of premature infants for providing an up-to-date picture on prevalence, course and risk factors connected to PPD, also on the impact of PPD and of prematurity on the quality of early dyadic relationship and on infants' development across the first year postpartum. Moreover, for discussing clinical and empirical implications of these studies, this review is aimed at illustrating how and if the impact of a premature birth changes according to the severity of prematurity. From a clinical perspective it emerges the need of promptly screening for PPD, above all in case of high risk prematurity, of monitoring the PPD' course for identifying women at higher risk for chronicity, and of planning interventions for promoting a good mother-infant interaction who, in turn, is a protective factor for infants' development. From an empirical perspective it emerges the need of exploring the impact of prematurity on PPD taking into account the severity of prematurity, and of studying the different courses of PDD for understanding how they impact on dyadic relationship and on infants' development.