Partners and babies integral to reduce postnatal depression

An intervention program which aimed to reduce postnatal depression has halved the incidence of depression and anxiety in women with no history of psychiatric problems in the first six months after giving birth.

The results of the study “What Were We Thinking?” were presented at the Australasian Marcé Society and Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Inc. 2OO9 Joint Conference being held at the University of Melbourne.

Close to 400 women were recruited for the study, which is the only mental health prevention program to date to include the partner and the newborn baby.

Associate Professor Jane Fisher of the Key Centre for Women’s Health in Society at the University of Melbourne and a co-investigator on the study says: “These results reveal how a small group education program targeting factors not addressed before, such as infant soothing and settling and day to day interactions in partner relationships, can be very successful in reducing the incidence of mild to moderate post natal depression and anxiety in new mothers.”

Dr Heather Rowe, co-investigator of the study and also of the Key Centre for Women’s Health in Society says the study has helped to show how post natal depression is not accurately described as a problem of an individual woman but rather reflects the quality of her close relationships.

The program was conducted in locally accessible Maternal and Child Health Centres in regional (Shepparton, Bairnsdale and Mornington) and metropolitan areas (Cities of Yarra, Casey and Nillumbik) in Victoria. Of the 400 participants all received standard care and 189 were also invited to participate in the “What Were We Thinking?” intervention program when their babies were four weeks old.

“What Were We Thinking?” is a half day program with trained supervised nurses and take home materials for ongoing reference. The program covered strategies to manage infant crying and soothing and to negotiate changes in the partner relationship associated with the increased workload of managing the baby. Both groups received standard health care which included access to a Maternal and Child Health nurse.

All participants completed telephone interviews four weeks and six months after the baby’s birth. At six months this included the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to assess whether they had experienced depression, anxiety or an adjustment disorder. Anonymous surveys completed by those who attended the intervention program indicated that most found the material highly relevant to their needs, that their knowledge about unsettled infant behaviour was increased and that their confidence had improved.

The results revealed that in women who had no prior history of mental health problems, those who attended the intervention program, had less than half the incidence of depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders than in those who had only received standard care.

“This is promising evidence that the inclusion of fathers and infants in additional small group education programs has sustained benefits. We hope this program will be adopted as part of routine Maternal and Child Health Care throughout Australia and that it will be developed in the future to meet the needs of people with specific needs including women with a history of mental illness, non English speaking backgrounds and young parents.”

The study was funded by the Australian Government, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

(Source: University of Melbourne: Australasian Marcé Society and Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Inc. 2OO9 Joint Conference, Melbourne: October 2009)