The preventive effect of psychological and psychosocial interventions on postpartum depression: An overview of systematic reviews

Abstract

Background

Postpartum depression is a prevalent issue that significantly impacts the mental health of women, placing a substantial burden on individuals, families, and society. With the increasing evidence of postpartum depression prevention, conducting comprehensive assessments becomes essential to facilitate future clinical practices.

Methods

The systematic review and meta-analysis examined psychological and psychosocial interventions to prevent postpartum depression in perinatal women (antenatal and postnatal up to 12 months). In January 2022 and November 2023, nine English- and four Chinese-language databases were searched. Two authors independently carried out literature screening and data extraction. To assess the quality of methodological, reporting, and evidence of the included reviews, the AMSTAR-2 scale, PRISMA statement, and GRADE approach were employed by the two authors.

Results

Twenty-eight eligible reviews were included, with medium-very low methodological quality. These reviews reported on 15 effective preventive interventions in four categories. However, due to inconsistent results across the studies, it was challenging to pinpoint the most beneficial interventions conclusively.

Limitations

Grey literature and unpublished articles were not searched, and the limitation on included reviews may result in biased results. In our narrative summary, data overlap in the original study was not considered. The low quality of the identified reviews further undermines the credibility of the evidence.

Conclusions

The study identified four promising aspects of preventive interventions, namely psychological, educational, support, and maternal-infant interventions. However, to draw more robust and reliable conclusions, future research must focus on higher-quality studies that directly compare the effectiveness of these different interventions.