Caring for a mother's mind during pregnancy helps her baby's brain, too

Depression during pregnancy is common and treatable, and a team led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and the University of Denver has now shown — in the first randomised trial of its kind — that helping the mother can shape the baby's earliest development. Pregnant participants received either eight weekly therapy sessions built around relationships and social support, or standard care with information and resources. Babies whose mothers got the therapy showed a 5% difference in the hippocampus, a brain area tied to memory and emotion, and that difference was linked to calmer emotional responses at 6 months old. It is some of the clearest evidence yet that mental-health care in pregnancy is an investment in two generations at once.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation