Evaluating the impact of the Mellow Babies group-based parenting programme for supporting at-risk mothers in Tajikistan

Abstract

Parental mental health has a long- lasting impact on developmental outcomes for infants and children through its impact on the family environment. Targeted parenting interventions should address both parental health and parenting skills. However, data is limited on how interventions perform in Central Asian populations. Using routine evaluation data from n=194 participants, we modelled the effectiveness of the Mellow Babies (MB) programmes, delivered to mothers from Tajikistan and their children as part of a community support approach. Pre-post intervention changes were measured on depression, anxiety, parenting stress, quality of life, and child behaviour outcomes. Demographics were modelled as covariates. Participation in MB was associated with improvements in maternal mental health, parenting stress, quality of life and child behaviour. Demographic factors moderated interactions between pre and post intervention outcomes, including urban/rural differences, parental employment, marital status and child disability status. Our findings suggest that MB is acceptable, effective and potentially scalable as a parenting intervention in Tajikistan. Future replication using implementation designs and replication of MB in other global settings is merited.