Mind-Mindedness, Oxytocin, and Postnatal Depression

During the early years of a child's life, the relationship between a baby and their mother is central to the child’s later social and emotional development. A key feature of this relationship is "mind-mindedness"—a parent’s ability to attune to their baby’s thoughts and feelings and communicate about them, fostering a shared understanding of the baby’s experience.

Research has shown that parents vary in their capacity for mind-mindedness, which in turn contributes to differences in how children develop language, understand and express their emotions, form relationships, and learn at school. However, the reasons behind these differences in parental mind-mindedness, and the extent to which they shape a child’s development, remain unclear.

In our research lab at University College London, we investigated the link between mind-mindedness and the hormone oxytocin to gain a deeper insight into this relationship. Oxytocin plays a crucial role in trust formation as well as in regulating social cognition and behaviour. It is fundamental to building relationships and navigating the social world. Although oxytocin functions throughout life, it is particularly influential in early childhood, when the brain undergoes its most rapid development.

This post explores how our recent study, published in Development and Psychopathology, provides new insights into the ways early emotional interactions between mothers and their babies shape early development.

What is mind-mindedness?

Mind-mindedness refers to a parent’s ability to recognise and interpret their baby’s thoughts and emotions, responding by verbally mirroring these experiences. It extends beyond meeting basic needs, such as hunger or tiredness, involving sensitivity to more nuanced social cues—such as recognising when a baby is happy, sad, afraid, or eager to explore. Since babies rely entirely on their caregivers and cannot yet communicate through speech, parents must decipher their baby’s non-verbal signals and articulate them on the baby’s behalf.

Higher parental mind-mindedness has been associated with greater attachment security, indicating healthy emotional development in infants. Babies who feel securely attached to their parent are more likely to explore their environment with confidence, knowing they have a trusted caregiver to seek comfort or support from when needed.

Oxytocin: The hormone behind emotional bonding

Oxytocin plays a key role in regulating stress, trust, and reward in social interactions. It helps coordinate emotional connections and social behaviours, supporting the formation and maintenance of relationships.

Oxytocin is released during physical closeness, as well as through eye-contact and by holding another person’s experience in mind. A mother’s oxytocin levels increase when they cradle, breastfeed, play with, or comfort their baby. This release of oxytocin strengthens the emotional bond between mother and child, helping the baby to regulate stress and develop an understanding of social interactions.

Higher oxytocin levels in children have been linked to stronger social skills and emotional resilience, while mothers with elevated oxytocin levels report greater feelings of closeness to their baby and demonstrate more sensitive and flexible responses to their baby’s evolving needs.

In our latest study, we explored for the first time whether oxytocin and mind-mindedness are connected, shedding light on the biological and psychological mechanisms that support child development.

The impact of postnatal depression

In exploring the relationship between oxytocin and mind-mindedness, we also examined the challenges faced by mothers and their babies when postnatal depression disrupts early relationship-building.

Postnatal depression is a mental health condition affecting approximately 20% of new mothers in the first year following childbirth. Mothers experiencing postnatal depression report feelings of sadness, anxiety, and difficulty in forming an emotional bond with their baby. This condition is a global issue and has been linked to an increased risk of long-term mental health difficulties in children.

Research has shown that oxytocin levels are lower in both mothers with postnatal depression and their child, although the underlying causes remain unclear. This can create a negative cycle in which babies with lower oxytocin may struggle to regulate stress and have fewer opportunities to experience rewarding social interactions at a critical stage of development. At the same time, lower oxytocin levels in mothers may contribute to feelings of emotional distance from their baby. As a result, many mothers with postnatal depression report feeling trapped in their new role as a mother and struggle to adjust to this major life transition, which can further exacerbate their mental health difficulties.

Oxytocin Essential Reads

Why Playing With Dogs Is So Good for Kids

How Oxytocin Affects Our Relationships

Understanding the mechanisms behind these interactions is crucial for identifying how maternal and infant mental health vulnerabilities develop. By deepening our knowledge, we can enhance the support provided to both mothers experiencing postnatal depression and their babies.

The bidirectional relationship: Mind-mindedness, oxytocin, and postnatal depression

Our research has revealed that the more a mother talks to their baby about the baby’s thoughts and feelings, the higher the baby’s oxytocin levels. We also found that higher oxytocin levels in babies correspond with how much their mothers engage in these conversations, highlighting a bidirectional process. This new bio-behavioural link suggests the presence of a feedback loop within the mother-child relationship that fosters early development.

However, our study also found that, on average, mothers with postnatal depression demonstrate lower mind-mindedness when interacting with their baby. This suggests one potential pathway through which mental health vulnerabilities may emerge in children. It may be that depression makes it harder for mothers to detect subtle emotional cues in their baby and respond appropriately. In turn, this disrupted interaction could further reduce oxytocin levels in both mother and child, making it more difficult to regulate stress and build a secure relationship.

These findings point to a key area for intervention by supporting mothers with postnatal depression in recognising and responding to their baby’s social cues. Enhancing mind-mindedness could not only benefit the baby’s emotional development but also help improve maternal self-confidence and mental health. Without such support, there is a risk that early emotional difficulties in the baby may develop into longer-term mental health problems. A lack of confidence in exploring social environments—such as when starting school—could further compound these challenges.

By understanding these links between mothers’ mind-mindedness, infant oxytocin and postnatal depression, we can introduce important improvements in the quality of care offered to new mothers and their baby during one of the most sensitive periods of child development.

By Dr. Kate Lindley Baron-Cohen and Professor Peter Fonagy, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London.