Advances in Perinatal Maternal Mental Health and Infant Sensory Development

Dear Colleagues, 

Maternal perinatal mental health plays a robust causal role in shaping infant development, which predicts a host of short-term and long-term outcomes regarding health and functioning. Among the various types of development, sensory development has received relatively less empirical investigation. However, contemporary research suggests that sensory processing is associated with important maternal (e.g., prenatal and postnatal anxiety and depression symptom severity), infant (e.g., sleep quality and other forms of development), and maternal–infant (e.g., duration and frequency of breastfeeding) variables. Additionally, sensory symptoms (i.e., reactivity to sensory input and unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment) constitute one criterion for autism spectrum disorder, suggesting that they may be an important research target in understanding neurodevelopmental disorders. Therefore, on behalf of the Children Editorial Office, we are pleased to invite you to submit research papers and review articles to disseminate vital information about this topic.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: prenatal, postnatal, or perinatal mental health, sensory development in infancy, sensory processing in infancy, and early neurodiversity.

We look forward to reviewing your contributions.

Dr. Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley
Guest Editor

Dr. Bryan Gee
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.