Stress plays a huge role in gut health,
altering the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota and likewise, an unhealthy diversity of bacteria can impact
emotional behaviour and exacerbate our stress response.
Maternal insensitivity and
emotional unavailability influences the infant's ability to develop a capacity for arousal regulation.25 Insensitive maternal
behaviour results in increased anger, distress and crying — together, these might reflect an infant's poor arousal regulation.26 PPD also
alters the capacity to regulate the reciprocal interaction between mothers and their infant via two patterns: intrusiveness and withdrawal.