Prior research indicates that postpartum depression is a risk factor for child socioemotional difficulties. Birthing parent depressive symptoms have also been negatively associated with feelings of competence in their role as a parent, which includes decreased feelings of satisfaction and self-efficacy. However, little research has investigated whether decreased parenting sense of competence is one of the mechanisms through which depression influences children's emotional development. We hypothesized that birthing parents with higher postpartum depression scores would report feeling less competent in their role as a parent, and that decreased feelings of competence would negatively impact their child's emotional development.