Promoting mental wellbeing in pregnant women living in Pakistan with the Safe Motherhood—Accessible Resilience Training (SM-ART) intervention: a randomized controlled trial
Date
2024-06-29
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Abstract
Background
The negative impact of adverse perinatal mental health extends beyond the mother and child; therefore, it is essential to make an early intervention for the management of mental illness during pregnancy. Resilience-building interventions are demonstrated to reduce depression and anxiety among expectant mothers, yet research in this field is limited. This study aims to examine the effect of the ‘Safe Motherhood—Accessible Resilience Training (SM-ART)’ on resilience, marital adjustment, depression, and pregnancy-related anxiety in a sample of pregnant women in Karachi, Pakistan.
Method
In this single-blinded block randomized controlled study, 200 pregnant women were recruited and randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group using computer-generated randomization and opaque sealed envelopes. The intervention group received the SM-ART intervention consisting of six, weekly sessions ranging from 60 to 90 min. Outcomes (Resilience, depression, pregnancy-related anxiety and marital harmony) were assessed through validated instruments at baseline and after six weeks of both intervention and control groups.
Results
The results revealed a significant increase in mean resilience scores (Difference:6.91, Effect size: 0.48, p-value < 0.05) and a decrease in depressive symptoms (Difference: -2.12, Effect size: 0.21, p-value < 0.05) in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, no significant change was observed in anxiety and marital adjustment scores.
Conclusion
The SM-ART intervention has the potential to boost resilience scores and decrease depressive symptoms in pregnant women and offers a promising intervention to improve maternal psychological health.
Trial registration
NCT04694261, Date of first trial registration: 05/01/2021.
Description
Keywords
Citation
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2024 Jun 29;24(1):452