A Universite de Montreal and Ste. Justine Hospital Research Centre study, with researchers from McGill University, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London, England, conducted on 1,212 children, followed through to adulthood reveals, time spent in maternity ward incubators as newborns, warmed up a baby's future outlook on life, making them two or three times less likely to be depressed as adults. Surprising, as the results are completely opposite to the original hypothesis researchers have been working on i. e. early separation from mum increases the risk of developing depression later in life.

The study published in the online journal Psychiatry Research looked at the 1986 larger study of Quebec kindergarten children that obtained information of their birth circumstances like birth conditions, obstetrical complications and incubator care from hospital records. Researchers found infants with incubator time, later assessed between 15 - 21-years of age for clinical depression, seemed far less likely to suffer from it.

Of the 16.5% of incubator study subjects, only 5% of them developed depression later on, as compared to 9% infants who did not require the incubator at birth. Rather contrary to the previously held belief that psychological stability in later life was the direct result of comfort gained from early bonding between baby and mother.

Working on the presumption that stress and depression are closely linked, researchers hypothesized incubator babies separated from their mothers suffered stress, which is a risk for depression later in life. However, in a surprising discovery, they found they had made a mistake and the exact opposite was true. Surprised and thinking a mistake had been made, the researchers according to Gourion 'redid the analysis, this time round taking into account parental socio-economic and environmental factors including age, income, education and living conditions, and whether the mother had a depression disorder', also. But, results remained the same i. e. 'the incubator seemed to have a protective effect against mental illness later in life.'

However, the study does not offer any theories of this shattered myth, though lead study author Dr. David Gourion says could be, because parents of incubator babies tend to be more attentive to such children. As well, the warm, oxygen-controlled incubator environment may itself offer a calm beginning to baby's life.

Though, more research is required, yet, the study provides insights into early life factors that could result in later life depression.