Influence of Digital health interventions on postpartum anxiety and depression

The purpose the study was to assess the effectiveness of digital health interventions in contrast with treatment or cure in preventing and treating postpartum depression as well as anxiety. This study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Highlights of the study

• The study indicates that digital health interventions (DHIs) had greatly minimized the signs and symptoms of both postpartum depression as well as postpartum anxiety.
• About 20 percent of women have PPA while 15 percent have PPD after the birth of new born. Nevertheless, fewer than 20 percent of these women have benefit of traditional treatments like interpersonal therapy, psychotherapy & psychoeducation.
• This study used systematic and meta-analysis for evaluation.

Also Read: How Postpartum Anxiety Can Be Cured Without Medicine, Follow This Method

Importance of DHIs

According to the report, 20 percent of women have PPA and 15 percent have PPD after birth. Among these women, only 20 percent uses interventions to reduce them by various traditional interventions such as interpersonal therapy, psychotherapy etc. DHIs are those interventions which are provided to a patient by using internet, Smartphone app or text messages. Since, 95 percent of Americans between age of 18 and 49 have their own smartphone, due to which DHIs are easier to access in comparison to in-person interventions. But there is a shortage of information about DHIs’ effectiveness against PPA and PPD.

Systematic review & meta-analysis

To compare the impact of DHIs to treatment as usual for PPA and PPD, researchers carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis. As per the records on PPA and PPD or the use of digital or mobile health treatments to manage postpartum distress were screened through publication of literature. The final analysis includes randomised studies comparing any perinatal DHI with TAU, with the key result being the first postpartum ascertainment score following intervention.

The final analysis involves 31 studies. Among these studies, 20 indicated higher quality while 11 found poorer quality. Nineteen researches used online based intervention, eleven used a smartphonne application and the last one used a text based intervention to provide DHI.

Current interventions in PPA and PPD

The majority of studies evaluated for PPA and PPD from 4 to 12 weeks postpartum period. While the range extended from less than a week to 32 weeks postpartum. A notable reduction in symptoms of PPA and PPD was observed from DHIs compared to TAU. And the standardized mean difference founded was of 0.64 and -0.49 respectively.

Also Read: Study Calls for Immediate Attention to Long-Term Postpartum Health Issues in Women

For measuring PPD, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used and for PPA was Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). But DHI markedly reduced GAD-7 and EPDS score values.

Impact of psychotherapy

Psychotherapy provided by interventions had a greater effect on overall PPD and PPA outcomes as compared to those providing psychoeducation. There was a higher chance of not finishing the final research analysis in online based studies. These findings showed the effectiveness of DHIs in lowering PPD and PPA signs and symptoms.