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Do psychosocial interventions have an impact on maternal perception of perinatal depression?

Yes / Poor perinatal mental health, in particular depression, affects at least 10% of new mothers in the UK. Current best practice recommends the use of talking therapies or medication, however, many women choose not to use medication or are deterred from accessing NHS services for example due to immigration status. Those who can access NHS treatment often face a long waiting list to see a clinician or therapist. Untreated perinatal depression impacts on the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies, consequently it is essential that alternative psychosocial interventions delivered by non-clinicians are considered. A systematic review was conducted on seven quantitative studies examining the effect of psychosocial interventions in reducing maternal symptoms of depression. Interventions focused either on physical activity or peer support, measuring depression scores on a validated screening tool. The review concludes that antenatal group peer support may benefit women in the antenatal period and that postnatal peer telephone support may be helpful for primiparous women but further large scale research is required.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/11162
Date30 November 2016
CreatorsFirth, Amanda, Haith-Cooper, Melanie, Egan, Dominic
Source SetsBradford Scholars
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle, Accepted Manuscript
Rights© 2016 MA Healthcare Ltd. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.

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