Relationship checkup aims to reduce perinatal, postpartum depression
Photo | Timothy Doyle
UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester
Researchers at Clark University and UMass Chan Medical School, both in Worcester, are exploring how a prenatal “relationship checkup” might help reduce risk factors for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, according to a nonexperimental proof-of-concept study which that was published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings last fall.
UMass Chan highlighted the preliminary research on Tuesday.
The small study included 10 couples who completed the relationship checkup, which consisted of a one-hour session and an additional feedback session. Researchers found that women’s depression scores decreased significantly and that their perceptions of their partner support increased following participation, according to UMass. The couples were pulled from a larger study of pregnant patients who received outpatient care at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
The checkup was derived from the Marriage Checkup, an evidence-based intervention for relationship challenges, which was developed by researchers at Clark, according to UMass, and aimed to target relationship distress and poor social support, which are risk factors for postpartum depression.
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