Promoting mental wellbeing in pregnant women living in Pakistan with the Safe Motherhood-Accessible Resilience Training (SM-ART) intervention: A randomized controlled trial

Authors

Shireen Shehzad, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
An-Sofie Van Parys, Ghent University, Belgium
David Arthur, Bermi Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Clinic, Australia
Nicole Letourneau, University of Calgary, Canada
Gail Wagnild, Resilience Center, United States
Olivier Degomme, Ghent University, Belgium

Document Type

Article

Department

School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan

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.

Comments

Pagination are not provided by the author/publisher.

Publication (Name of Journal)

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

DOI

10.1186/s12884-024-06629-2

Recommended Citation

Shehzad, S., Parys, A. V., Arthur, D., Letourneau, N., Wagnild, G., Degomme, O. (2024). Promoting mental wellbeing in pregnant women living in Pakistan with the Safe Motherhood-Accessible Resilience Training (SM-ART) intervention: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24(1).
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_son/534