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January 22, 2009
Study indicates peer counseling may help new mothers combat anxiety, postpartum depression
Writing in the Los Angeles Times (1/20) Booster Shots blog, Jeannine Stein observed that, according to "a new study published online recently in the British Medical Journal...peer counseling sessions may help" new "mothers combat anxiety" and postpartum depression.
Researchers from the University of Toronto "recruited 701 at-risk Canadian women, about half of whom received telephone counseling from a community volunteer who had experienced postpartum depression, and went through a four-hour training session."
Serving as a control group, "the other half...were able to access standard postpartum care that included help from public-health nurses, doctors, and community resources." At the beginning of the study, "both groups had similar" Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores, but "at 12 weeks," the "counseling group showed an improvement."
Posted by admin at January 22, 2009 11:36 AM