Preventing Postpartum Depression in the Early Postpartum Period Using an App-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

Xiaoli Qin, Chunfeng Liu, Wei Zhu, Yan Chen () and Yudong Wang ()
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Xiaoli Qin: The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Chunfeng Liu: School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Wei Zhu: The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Yan Chen: The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Yudong Wang: The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: A large proportion of women experience depression during the postpartum period. Few studies have investigated the use of mobile technology to prevent postpartum depression in women. This study investigated the preliminary effectiveness of the CareMom program, a new app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program, on reducing the depressive symptoms of mothers during the very early postpartum period via a pilot randomized controlled study. The participants were recruited during birth hospitalization (within 3 days after giving birth) and randomized to the waiting-list control and CareMom groups. Over the four-week intervention period, the CareMom group was required to complete 28 daily challenges via CareMom. The depressive (via EPDS) and anxiety (via GAD-7) levels of participants were measured at baseline and every 7 days postbaseline for 4 weeks. A total of 112 eligible participants were randomly allocated to the two groups (CareMom: n = 57; control: n = 55). At week 4, the CareMom group achieved a significantly lower EPDS score than the control group at week 4 ( p = 0.037). In addition, the EPDS ( p < 0.001) scores of the CareMom group were significantly lower than the baseline values. However, the control group did not show any significant reduction in this measure. No significant reduction of GAD-7 scores was observed for CareMom and control groups at week 4. This study provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of CareMom in reducing depressive symptoms in the general postpartum population during the very early postpartum period.

Keywords: digital mental health; cognitive behavioral therapy; postpartum depression; postpartum anxiety; depression prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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