Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common disorders following childbirth. This systematic review and meta-analysis (SR/MA) aimed to assess the effectiveness of psychological interventions in preventing PPD in non-depressed women. PRISMA guidelines were followed. MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed), PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, CENTRAL, OpenGrey, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry and clinicaltrial.gov were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted with pregnant or postpartum (up to 12 months) women who were non-depressed at baseline were selected. The outcomes were the incidence of PPD and/or the reduction of postpartum depressive symptoms. The standardized mean difference (SMD) using random-effect models was calculated. Sensitivity, sub-group and meta-regression analyses were performed. 17 RCTs were included in the SR and 15 in the MA, representing 4958 participants from four continents. The pooled SMD was −0.175 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.266 to −0.083; p < 0.001] and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of this result. Heterogeneity was low (I2 = 21.20%) and was fully explained by a meta-regression model including one variable (previous deliveries). The meta-regression model and MA stratified by previous deliveries indicated that interventions focused on primiparous women are more effective. There was no evidence of publication bias. Few RCTs had an overall low risk of bias. According to GRADE, the quality of evidence was moderate. Psychological interventions have very little effectiveness in preventing PPD in non-depressed women, although this effectiveness is greater in interventions focused on primiparous women. Further RCTs with a low risk of bias and more effective interventions are needed.

IntroductionThe prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) is 17%, and the incidence is 12% worldwide. Adverse consequences for mothers and babies have been associated with this disease. To assess the effectiveness of psychological, psychoeducational and psychosocial interventions in preventing PPD, a systematic review and meta-analysis (SR/MA) will be conducted.Methods and analysisA SR/MA will be performed following the indications of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Studies will be identified through MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed), PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, OpenGrey, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov and evidencebasedtherapy.org from inception until 31 January 2020. Bridging searches will be also conducted until the review is completed. The selection criteria will be as follows: (1) subjects will be pregnant females or females who have given birth in the last 12 months and who were non-depressive at baseline; (2) psychological, psychoeducational and psychosocial interventions; (3) comparator will be usual care, attention control, waiting list or no intervention; (4) outcomes will be specific results on PPD; and (5) the design of the studies will be randomised controlled trials. No restrictions regarding the year of publication, the setting of the intervention or the language of publication will be considered. Pooled standardised mean differences and 95% CIs will be calculated. The risk of bias of the studies will be assessed through the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. Heterogeneity between the studies will be determined by the I2 and Cochran’s Q statistics. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses will also be performed. Publication bias will be checked with funnel plots and Egger’s test. Heterogeneity will be explored by random-effects meta-regression analysis.Ethics and disseminationThe ethical assessment was not required. The results will be presented at conferences and disseminated through publications.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018109981.

No abstract