Baby Carrier Intervention

The Baby Carrier Intervention is a program aimed at strengthening parent-infant bonding by promoting physical closeness and secure attachment through the use of baby carriers. By encouraging skin-to-skin contact and responsive caregiving, this intervention supports emotional connection and healthy infant development.

Before Baby Relationship Checkup

The Before Baby Relationship Checkup (BBRC) is an intervention designed to enhance relationship quality in perinatal couples through structured couples consultations. Delivered virtually, the BBRC focuses on improving communication and relational health to reduce the risk of perinatal depression and anxiety.

Perinatal Multisite Databank

The Perinatal Multisite Databank (PMD) is a clinical cohort of over 700 patients recruited from seven specialized hospital clinics across Quebec. It collects extensive data on perinatal mental health, focusing on emotional well-being, relationship dynamics, and mental health symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum.

Other Research Interests and Ongoing Research

Maternal Adult Attachment and Perinatal Mental Health

This research examines how attachment styles in mothers affect their emotional well-being during pregnancy and postpartum. This work aims to understand the impact of attachment on mental health and parent-infant bonding, helping to inform interventions for improved maternal and infant outcomes.

Negative Child Birth Experience and Mother-infant Bonding

This research explores how traumatic or distressing birth experiences can hinder the early emotional connection between mother and infant. It investigates the psychological impact of negative births on maternal bonding, potentially leading to challenges in attachment, postpartum depression, and long-term developmental outcomes for the child.

COVID-19 and Perinatal Mental Health

This research focuses on the increased psychological challenges faced by expectant and new mothers during the pandemic, including heightened anxiety, depression, and stress. It examines how factors like social isolation, healthcare disruptions, and uncertainty have exacerbated perinatal mental health issues, impacting both maternal well-being and parent-infant bonding during this critical period.

Recent Publications


  • López-Vicente, M., Szekely, E., Lafaille-Magnan, M.-E., Morton, J. B., & others. (2024). Examining the interaction between prenatal stress and polygenic risk for attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder on brain growth in childhood: Findings from the DREAM BIG consortium. Developmental Psychobiology, 66(4), e22481. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22481


  • Qiu, A., Shen, C., López-Vicente, M., Szekely, E., Chong, Y.-S., White, T., & others. (2024). Maternal positive mental health during pregnancy impacts the hippocampus and functional brain networks in children. Nature Mental Health, 2(3), 320-327.


  • Szekely, E., Laplante, D. P., Tiemeier, H., Evans, J., Pearson, R. M., Bekkhus, M., & others. (2023). The DREAM BIG project as a model for harmonizing early measures of parental care and parent-child interactions across epidemiological cohorts. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2, 1206922.


  • Babineau, V., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., Szekely, E., Green, C. G., Sassi, R., & others. (2023). Maternal prenatal depression is associated with dysregulation over the first five years of life moderated by child polygenic risk for comorbid psychiatric problems. Developmental Psychobiology, 65(5), e22395.


  • Green, C. G., Szekely, E., Babineau, V., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., & others. (2023). Negative emotionality as a candidate mediating mechanism linking prenatal maternal mood problems and offspring internalizing behaviour. Development and Psychopathology, 35(2), 604-618.


  • Neumann, A., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., Szekely, E., Sallis, H. M., O’Donnell, K., & others. (2022). Combined polygenic risk scores of different psychiatric traits predict general and specific psychopathology in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(6), 636-645.


  • Szekely, E., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., Atkinson, L., Levitan, R. D., Steiner, M., & others. (2021). The interplay between prenatal adversity, offspring dopaminergic genes, and early parenting on toddler attentional function. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 15, 701971. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.701971


  • Wazana, A., Székely, E., & Oberlander, T. F. (2021). Prenatal stress and child development. Springer International Publishing.


  • Wazana, A., Székely, E., & Oberlander, T. F. (2021). Prenatal stress and child development: The future that lies ahead. In Prenatal Stress and Child Development (pp. 623-631). Springer International Publishing.


  • Szekely, E., Neumann, A., Sallis, H., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., Verhulst, F. C., & others. (2021). Maternal prenatal mood, pregnancy-specific worries, and early child psychopathology: Findings from the DREAM BIG consortium. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(1), 186-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.10.013