A double-blind, placebo-controlled, case-controlled, randomised controlled-trial, within-subjects, cross-over design will be conducted.~Participants will include mothers and their infant in the postnatal period. All participants will be screened for symptoms of low mood on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and then assigned into 2 groups comprising probable PND cases and controls.~All participants will take part in 3 conditions at Baseline (before nasal spray administration), Condition 1 (after first OT/Placebo administration) and Condition 2 (after second OT/Placebo administration), and will complete the same order of tasks.
This study investigates the effects of a single dose of oxytocin (OT) delivered via a nasal spray in women with and without traits of postnatal depression (PND).