Paternal bonding failure and depression at 1 month postpartum are associated with neurodevelopmental delay in 4‐year‐old children: An Adjunct Study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study

We aimed to determine the association between paternal bonding failure and depression in the postpartum period and children's neurodevelopment, as an Adjunct Study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), a prospective cohort study. We evaluated the association between the Japanese version of the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) / Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores for fathers and the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3) scores in their 4-year-old children. Paternal MIBS and EPDS were administered at 1 month postpartum. Data from 646 father-child pairs were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Paternal MIBS total scores ≥5 were associated with communication (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.786; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.088-7.132), problem-solving (AOR, 3.136; 95% CI, 1.027-9.574), and personal-social delays (AOR, 2.843; 95% CI, 1.353-5.978) (reference, scores ≤2). Paternal EPDS scores ≥8 were associated with fine motor (AOR, 3.315; 95% CI, 1.470-7.473) and problem-solving delays (AOR, 4.904; 95% CI, 1.664-14.446) (reference, scores ≤7). Bonding failure and depression at 1 month postpartum in fathers are associated with neurodevelopmental delays in their 4-year-old children, with different domain-specific patterns.