Disconfirmed expectations of infant behaviours and postnatal depressive symptoms among parents

Objectives: A number of studies have examined the relationship between disconfirmed expectations about early parenthood and postnatal depressive symptoms. Most have focused on primiparous women, yet new fathers and multiparous parents also develop depressive symptoms following childbirth. The current study examined whether primiparous and multiparous mothers’ and fathers’ antenatal expectations about infant feeding and sleeping behaviours were consistent with their later experiences and whether disconfirmed expectations were associated with postnatal depressive symptoms. Method: Thirty-five mothers and 24 fathers in Brisbane Australia completed questionnaires during the third trimester of pregnancy and again in the first 16 weeks post-delivery. Results: Parents’ expectations of infant behaviours were matched or exceeded by their postnatal experience. Discrepancies between antenatal expectations and postnatal experiences were not associated with parity or severity of depressive symptoms in the early postnatal period. Conclusion: Primiparous and multiparous parents typically held realistic expectations of infant sleeping and feeding behaviours relative to their postnatal experience. A small group of parents held less favourable antenatal expectations which may be an adaptive cognitive strategy used to protect parents against negative postnatal experience. Implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.