Internet-based prenatal interventions for maternal health among pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The Efficacy of Digital Cognitive–Behavioral Interventions in Supporting the Psychological Adjustment and Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women with Sub-Clinical Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Moreover, akin to Lau and colleagues’ results [ 41 ], the current meta-analysis showed that the efficacy in terms of the depression symptoms was not maintained at follow-up during the postpartum period. Notwithstanding, it should be noted that the focus on depression symptoms compared to the scarce consideration of the highly associated anxiety and stress symptoms, as well as sleep quality and quality of life, represents a limitation of the available literature [ 50 ]. Indeed, it is noteworthy that these intervention programs were not specific for women with sub-clinical psychological symptoms during pregnancy.…”

“…A further evaluation of the available literature highlighted that studies investigating the efficacy of CBTs and third-generation CBTs have greatly focused on women in the postpartum period [ 47 , 48 ] or on the broader perinatal period (i.e., both ante- and postnatal) [ 49 ]. Moreover, these studies were based either on specific intervention protocols (e.g., traditional CBTs) [ 41 , 42 ] or conversely included psychological interventions at large [ 50 , 51 ], despite their specific theoretical background. In addition, among the studies that placed attention on pregnancy, the involved women presented either clinically relevant psychological symptoms or mental disorders, such as major depression [ 52 , 53 ], or were instead recruited from the general population regardless of their symptomatology level [ 41 , 42 , 54 ].…”

To the Editors of the Journal of Fertility, Gynecology, and Andrology

“…Systematic reviews have proved the acceptance of health programs and social media for supporting prenatal care, including promoting a healthy lifestyle and providing health information in different countries (15). Internet-based prenatal educational programs are found to be effective in alleviating maternal postpartum depression (16). Studies also showed that using mobile devices for health purposes can significantly improve the rate of exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding efficacy, and women's attitudes toward breastfeeding and reduce health problems in infants (17).…”

The role of childbirth educators in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, this leads to an important question: can remote birth education be an acceptable substitute for face-to-face birth classes? Some insights into this question are offered by recent studies, such as a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled articles on internet-based prenatal education interventions, which found interventions delivered via online reduced maternal depression [5]. Internet-based education is defined as the delivery of organized educational content between educators and learners using computer networks, and it is characterized by interactive communication, self-learning, and tutoring.…”

“…The advantage of these modalities for the educator is that they are cost-effective and have a high ripple effect since the content is delivered to a large number of people. These methods can deliver standardized and high-quality education [5]. From the learner's point of view, visual information such as photos and videos can be more easily understood than text information.…”