Less exploring by mouth occurs in newborns of depressed mothers

Twenty-four newborns (M age = 12 days) of depressed and nondepressed mother s were assessed for oral perception of a nubby and smooth texture. Both gro ups of newborns discriminated between these textures and showed a sucking p reference for the smooth texture. However, the newborns of depressed mother s spent 50% less time orally exploring the stimuli, one-third less time exp loring the more novel nubby texture, and 59% less time mouthing the smooth texture. Newborns of depressed mothers may have biological differences that affect their emotional arousal and emotional regulation (e.g., capacity fo r self-soothing).