Mother in Me (MiM): A Prevention and Early Intervention Program in Perinatal Depression – A Pilot Trial

Abstract

Cognitive behavioral therapies and mindfulness training during pregnancy have already been recognized as important tools in improving perinatal mental health [1]. Nevertheless, further randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed [2]. This study aimed to test the efficacy of Mother in Me (MiM), a prevention/ early intervention program for perinatal depression in a pilot RCT. 32 women with depressive symptomatology and/or risk factors for perinatal depression were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (EG - MiM 8-sessions) or equivalent control groups (Treatment as Usual-TAU), filling a set of self-report questionnaires to assess psychological distress, self-compassion and mindfulness at baseline (T0 - during pregnancy), at post-intervention (T1) and at 5-weeks postpartum (T2). Pre/post-intervention scores showed a decrease in depressive symptoms, negative affect and antenatal anxiety, as well as an increase in self-compassion (EG). In the postpartum, we found that 50% of the participants improved from the depressive symptoms and that 40% experienced a decrease in negative affect. Qualitative results supported the perceived benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion. Even though our results were not as expressive as we might expect, there was a clinically reliable improvement in depressive symptoms in half of the experimental group. This encourages the team to improve the MiM, which is our next step, conducting a new RCT with the improved program. Keywords: perinatal depression; prevention; early intervention; pilot randomized controlled study.