Welcome to Parenthood is associated with reduction of postnatal depressive symptoms during the transition from pregnancy
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Welcome to Parenthood is associated with reduction of postnatal depressive symptoms during the transition from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum in a community sample: a longitudinal evaluation Karen M. Benzies 1
&
Malgorzata Gasperowicz 1 & Arfan Afzal 1 & Melody Loewen 1
Received: 15 April 2020 / Accepted: 15 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Becoming a mother is a fundamental life-transforming event characterized by high psychosocial distress. Most prenatal programming leaves women feeling unprepared for the realities of early parenthood. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a brief enhancement to existing prenatal programming, Welcome to Parenthood® (W2P). Using a single-group, longitudinal design, we implemented W2P with a community sample of 454 primiparous women via 11 Parent Link Centres in Alberta, Canada. The women completed questionnaires during late pregnancy, and 2 and 6 months postpartum to capture adverse childhood experiences (ACE), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale; EPDS), and infant development (Ages and Stages Questionnaires; ASQs). Outcomes were compared with the naturalistic values from All Our Families community cohort from the same province and to the ASQ reference samples. By the end of W2P, depressive symptoms decreased significantly (p < .0001). The number of women with high depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥ 10) decreased almost by half, from 80 (17.6%) at enrollment to 41 (9.0%) at 6 months postpartum. Women with higher ACE had the greatest decrease in depressive symptoms. Infants in W2P had significantly better development than infants in reference samples. W2P is associated with improved maternal mood and infant development. Given that W2P is brief and uses natural supports, it may be integrated into existing prenatal programming for first-time mothers. Keywords Mentorship . First-time mothers . Depression . Infant development . Adverse childhood experiences
Introduction The transition from pregnancy to parenthood is a fundamental life change that involves a shift in family dynamics, sleep disruption, fatigue, heightened psychosocial stress, social isolation, and new role identity (Mercer 1995; Nyström and Öhrling 2004; Saxbe et al. 2018). Qualitatively, the transition to parenthood has been described as “living in a new and overwhelming world” (Nyström and Öhrling 2004, p. 324), and parents want more information and support to empower their parenting (Devolin et al. 2013).
* Karen M. Benzies [email protected] 1
Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
The underlying assumption with parenting education is that increased knowledge will improve health-related behaviors and subsequent child and family outcomes (Gilmer et al. 2016). Unfortunately, after the birth of a child, many parents do not have time to attend postnatal classes (Devolin et al. 2013). Prenatal classes, although well attended, focus primaril
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