A preventive intervention for pregnant women on public assistance at risk for postpartum depression.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Promising results were obtained in an earlier pilot study of a preventive intervention based on the principles of interpersonal psychotherapy to reduce the risk of postpartum major depressive disorder. In this study, the authors examined whether the intervention would reduce the risk of postpartum major depressive disorder in a larger sample of pregnant women.

METHOD:
Ninety-nine pregnant women on public assistance who were assessed to be at risk for postpartum depression were randomly assigned to receive standard antenatal care plus the intervention or standard antenatal care only. Diagnostic interviews were administered 3 months after delivery to assess for major depressive disorder.

RESULTS:
Within 3 months after delivery, eight (20%) of the women in the standard antenatal care condition had developed postpartum major depressive disorder, compared with two (4%) in the intervention condition.

CONCLUSIONS:
This study provides further evidence for the efficacy of a brief intervention to reduce the occurrence of major depressive disorder among financially disadvantaged women during a postpartum period of 3 months.

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Author information

Author/s: Zlotnick, Caron (C); Miller, Ivan W (IW); Pearlstein, Teri (T); Howard, Margaret (M); Sweeney, Patrick (P);

Affiliation: Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence, RI 02906, USA. caron_zlotnick(-atsign-)brown.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: The American journal of psychiatry (Am J Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 163 (issue 8) : pp 1443-5

Dates: Created 2006/07/31; Completed 2006/09/07; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16877662, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Depression, Postpartum - epidemiology; prevention & control
Depressive Disorder, Major - prevention & control
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy

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