Abstract
Objective Maternal amnesia is a transitional cognitive impairment occurring during pregnancy
and the postpartum period. We evaluated the prevalence and extent of this suggested
cognitive decline and the role of postpartum depression.
Study Design A cross-sectional study was performed in women during the immediate postpartum period.
Eligible women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Cognitive
function was assessed using an objective neurocognitive test (Symbol Digit Modalities
Test, SDMT90, and SDMT4) and a subjective self-estimation questionnaire (Attention
Function Index [AFI]).
Results A total of 120 women completed the study questionnaires; 33.3% (40 women) exhibited
signs of postpartum depression (EPDS ≥10). The subjective AFI test results correlated
with the objective SDMT90 test results (r
2 = 0.2, p = 0.039). Depressed mothers scored significantly lower in the subjective AFI test
(67.69 ± 12.01 in the study vs. 79.05 ± 14.3 in the comparison group; p < 0.001) and nearly significantly lower in the objective SDMT test (p = 0.057). In the multi-variable model, maternal depression was independently associated
with the subjective AFI score (β = −13.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −19.1 to −8.2, p < 0.001) but not with the objective SDMT score (β = −3.48; 95% CI −8.3 to 1.3, p = 0.15), while controlling for maternal age, gestational age, and ethnicity.
Conclusion Postpartum depression is common and appears to predominantly affect maternal self-assessment
of cognitive ability, rather than a true cognitive impairment.
Keywords
postpartum depression - maternal amnesia - cognitive function - Edinburgh Postnatal
Depression Scale
