Effects of psychoeducation on the mental health and relationships of pregnant couples: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies suggest that psychoeducational interventions for pregnant and postpartum couples can improve perinatal mental health outcomes and promote couples’ relationships. However, most studies conducted to date have focused only on maternal depression, with few studies addressing the needs of fathers, or the effects of paternal participation on the mental health/relationship of both partners. ObjectivesThis study aimed to systematically examine the effects of perinatal couples’ psychoeducation on parental mental health and their relationship. DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Data sourcesSix electronic databases were searched, including Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and PubMed. Review methodsThe authors independently extracted data from journals written in English or Korean, published between January 2000 and August 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported psycho-emotional symptoms and couples’ relationship outcomes were screened. Of the 11 studies that systematically reviewed couples’ mental health and relationship problems, seven RCTs, with data available to pool for quantitative analysis, were reviewed. The total number of participants from all studies was 7119, and the number of participant couples ranged from 15 to 869. ResultsPsychoeducational interventions had a small effect size in promoting maternal mental health (SMD = −0.307; 95% CI: −0.47 to −0.14). However, there was evidence of heterogeneity for the overall outcome, with I2 of 16% and p = .27. Paternal mental health also improved, but with a small effect size (SMD = −0.296; 95% CI: −0.53 to −0.05). The pooled results of four studies showed that interventions had very small effect sizes for improving maternal perception of the couple's relationship (SMD = 0.125; 95% CI: −0.05 to 0.30). There was evidence of heterogeneity for the overall outcome, with I2 of 7% and p = .36. Psychoeducational interventions with fathers showed a medium effect size for improving paternal perception of the couple's relationship (SMD = 0.348; 95% CI: 0.16 to 0.52); heterogeneity was I2 of 0% and p = .68. ConclusionThis study was meaningful as it revealed evidence from published trials regarding the effectiveness of psychoeducational programs that target both pregnant women and their partners. Results indicate that psychoeducational interventions can reduce maternal postpartum depression and ameliorate paternal negative affect, as well as provide overall improvement in the couples’ relationship satisfaction. However, further studies on physiological indicators and/or clinical symptoms of postpartum depression are needed to better understand the practical significance of psychoeducational intervention.