Couple-Centred Brief Intervention (CCBI) for Common Perinatal Mental Disorders among Parental Dyads during First Year of Child Birth: A Parallel Group, Non-Inferiority Trial

Common perinatal mental disorders CPMD like postpartum depression PPD and postpartum anxiety PPA are significant mental health concerns. They not only impact individual well-being but also strain the parental relationship. Interventions for CPMD focus solely on individual treatments, overlooking the systemic nature of the problem within the parental unit. Thus, there is a need for interventions tailored to parental dyads that address both individual and relational factors. There have been no studies focusing on the effectiveness of interventions targeting both the postpartum woman and her partner for CPMD.

This study investigates whether such an intervention will be effective in community settings. Moreover, it will facilitate brief mental health screening of postnatal women, which is a part of postnatal care yet not fully implemented, as per field experiences. Therefore, this study is carried out to investigate the effectiveness of a Couple-Centred Brief Intervention CCBI for mild to moderate PPD and PPA among parental dyads during the first year of childbirth, when compared to standard care treatment recommended by healthcare providers.

This is a randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms, CCBI and Standard Care. Parental dyads will be screened sequentially using the Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-2, PHQ-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scales GAD-2 and GAD-7. Either member of the parental dyad with a PHQ-9 score between 10 and 19 or a GAD-7 score between 10 and 14 will be invited to participate and randomly assigned to either the intervention or standard care group. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and at end-points four weeks after the last session of the intervention or standard care.

This trial contributes to the evidence base for interventions targeting CPMD among parental dyads. If successful, it would offer a valuable addition to existing treatment approaches.