Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41896388›Full record

ArticleArchives of women's mental health2026

Perinatal obsessive-compulsive symptoms and maternal-infant bonding: A longitudinal examination of depression and relationship quality.

Journa Njoh, Jonathan S Abramowitz, Rashelle Musci, Mary C Kimmel, Lauren M Osborne, Jack Samuels, Paul Nestadt, Gerald Nestadt, Eric A Storch

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of women's mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Journa NjohDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States.
Jonathan S AbramowitzDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Rashelle MusciBloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States.
Mary C KimmelDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Lauren M OsborneDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States.
Jack SamuelsDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, United States.
Paul NestadtDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, United States.
Gerald NestadtDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, United States.
Eric A StorchDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States. eric.storch@bcm.edu.

Funding

Preclinical and Clincial OutcomesP50HD103555 · NICHD · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI Sandesh Chakravarthy Sreenath Nagamani, David Loren Nelson · 2020 to 2026
$9.9M
2/2 Predictors and Course of Postpartum Obsessions and CompulsionsR01MH118261 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI NESTADT, GERALD · 2019 to 2023
$2.1M
1/2 Predictors and Course of Postpartum Obsessions and CompulsionsR01MH118249 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI ABRAMOWITZ, JONATHAN S. · 2019 to 2023
$1.5M
NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD103555NIH HHS P50HD103555NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH118249NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH118261The National Institute of Mental Health R01MH118249The National Institute of Mental Health R01MH118261
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPerinatal obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms are common and distressing, yet their impact on early parenting outcomes such as maternal-infant bonding remains poorly understood. Although prior research links maternal depression and anxiety to bonding difficulties, less is known about how perinatal OC symptoms relate to maternal-infant bonding over time, or the extent to which maternal-partner relationship quality is associated with these outcomes, and whether depressive symptoms explain observed associations.

methodsData were drawn from a longitudinal study of 256 pregnant women recruited from two U.S. sites between 2020 and 2023. Participants completed self-report and clinician-administered assessments at 20 weeks (PGWK20), 34 weeks gestation (PGWK34), and at 6 weeks (PP6WK) and 6 months postpartum (PP6MO). OC symptoms were measured using the Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Perinatal Thoughts and Behaviors Checklist (PTBC), depressive symptoms with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), maternal-partner relationship quality with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and maternal-infant bonding with the Postnatal Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ).

resultsPrenatal OC symptom severity (PGWK34) and OC symptom severity assessed at PP6WK did not directly predict maternal-infant bonding difficulties at PP6WK or PP6MO. Depressive symptoms at PP6WK significantly mediated the association between prenatal OC symptoms and bonding difficulties at PP6MO. Higher maternal-partner relationship quality during pregnancy (PGWK34) predicted fewer bonding difficulties at PP6MO but was not associated with the strength of associations between OC symptoms and bonding outcomes.

conclusionsPerinatal OC symptoms may indirectly influence maternal-infant bonding through co-occurring depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of mood-focused assessment and personalized intervention during pregnancy. Maternal-partner relationship quality emerged as a general protective factor associated with fewer bonding difficulties but did not moderate associations between OC symptoms and bonding outcomes. Integrated screening and intervention approaches targeting both mood and OC features may enhance maternal well-being and early relational outcomes.

Indexed as

DepressionMother-Child RelationsMothersObject AttachmentObsessive-Compulsive DisorderPregnancy ComplicationsPregnant PeopleAdultFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesPregnancyPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesSurveys and QuestionnairesLongitudinal studyMaternal-infant bondingMaternal-partner relationship qualityPerinatal obsessive–compulsive symptomsPostpartum depression

Identifiers

PMID41896388
PMCPMC13031229

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.