Effectiveness of nurses and midwives-led psychological interventions on reducing depression symptoms in the perinatal period: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Tsuei-Hung Wang, Lee-Wen Pai, Ya-Ling Tzeng and 2 others
PMID 33452740WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse and midwife-led psychological support reduced perinatal depression symptoms compared with usual care.
Supportive counselling and about 6 to 8 sessions showed the clearest reductions.
Key findings
01Nurse and midwife-led psychological interventions reduced perinatal depression symptoms compared with usual care.
02Supportive counselling and cognitive behavioural approaches reduced depression symptoms, while psychological education did not show a significant difference.
03Fewer than 4 sessions and 6–8 sessions reduced symptoms; 10–16 sessions did not show a significant effect.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Depression symptoms were measured by self-report, not objective clinical data. Some included trials were small or inconclusive. Some women also used antidepressants during follow-up, which could mix with the intervention effect. Most studies did not pre-register protocols, so selective reporting cannot be ruled out. Missing outcome data were common, and differences between groups could introduce bias. Most included trials were not judged low risk of bias. The review included both randomised and non-randomised trials. Most studies were from Europe or Australia.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that psychological education by nurses or midwives is enough to reduce perinatal depression symptoms. In this review, psychological education did not show a significant effect, while supportive counselling and cognitive behavioural approaches did.