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The consistency of a mother’s signals to her infant before and after delivery may affect the offspring’s later vulnerability to mental disorders. Baram et al. (p. 907) note that mental development was greater in 1-year-old infants whose mothers were depressed both before and after delivery than in infants whose mothers were depressed during only one of these periods. Effects of fragmented care are evident in rodents when the overall quantity of maternal care remains constant but the pattern or sequence of care is disrupted.