Sixty-three pregnant women (36 with depression symptoms) were recruited dur
ing their last trimester of pregnancy. The depressed mothers had higher cor
tisol and norepinephrine levels and lower dopamine levels. Their infants su
bsequently had higher cortisol and norepinephrine levels and lower dopamine
levels at the neonatal stage. The neonates of depressed mothers also showe
d inferior performance on the orientation, reflex, excitability, and withdr
awal clusters of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment. Stepwise reg
ression analyses revealed that the depressed mothers' prenatal norepinephri
ne and dopamine levels significantly predicted the newborns' norepinephrine
and dopamine levels and their Brazelton scores highlighting an early bioch
emical influence on neonatal outcome.