Postpartum doula and peer telephone support for postpartum depression: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Perinatal mental health
• Maternal and child health
• Psychosocial interventions

Background:

• Postpartum depression affects many mothers.
• Peer support interventions show promise for maternal mental health.
• The role of postpartum doulas in supporting mothers with depressive symptoms requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of recruiting postpartum doulas and mothers with depressive symptoms for a peer support intervention.
• To preliminarily evaluate the benefits of postpartum doula support and peer telephone support for at-risk mothers.
• To compare maternal satisfaction with different types of support.

Main Methods:

• Recruitment of postpartum doulas, peer telephone supporters, and mothers with depressive symptoms from various sources.
• Randomization of participating mothers into three groups: postpartum doula support, peer telephone support, and a control group.
• Data collection through surveys at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months postenrollment.

Main Results:

• Feasibility of recruitment was demonstrated with 39 mothers, 6 postpartum doulas, and 6 peer telephone supporters participating.
• The postpartum doula group included a higher proportion of women with a history of depression and those receiving treatment at 6 months.
• Mothers in the postpartum doula group reported greater satisfaction with the support received compared to the telephone support group.

Conclusions:

• Recruitment of postpartum doulas, peer telephone supporters, and mothers with depressive symptoms for intervention trials is feasible.
• Postpartum doula support was associated with higher maternal satisfaction than peer telephone support.
• Further research is recommended to explore postpartum doula support as an adjunctive or alternative therapy for postpartum depression.