Web-based treatment for depression in pregnancy: a feasibility study of Mum2BMoodBooster

Depression in pregnancy is prevalent, under-treated, and has serious impacts on the wellbeing of women and on child development. Internet programs can reach women who may not access traditional treatments due to distance, stigma or concern about taking medication. We adapted our online postnatal depression program, MumMoodBooster, for antenatal use. We aimed to trial feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the new Mum2BMoodBooster intervention with depressed pregnant women.

Twenty-seven pregnant women with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score > 11 used the program in a feasibility trial. Twenty-one had current diagnoses of major or minor depression on the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. Assessment of symptoms occurred at screening/baseline, post-test (8 weeks post-enrollment), and at follow-up (3 months postpartum) using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21).

In this feasibility trial, depression scores on both the PHQ-9 and the DASS-21, showed significant reductions representing large effects, with average symptom scores reduced by > 50%, and maintained in the 'minimal or no depression' range at 3 month follow-up. Anxiety scores also decreased significantly. Program usage was high with 74% of women visiting all six sessions. Program acceptability ratings were moderate to high.

Findings paralleled the magnitude of symptom reductions seen in randomised trials of the postnatal MumMoodBooster program, suggesting that Mum2BMoodBooster is an effective treatment for depressed pregnant women. Effective internet therapies are likely to become increasingly important as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make face-to-face access to health care problematic during 'lockdowns'.