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Improving Maternal Mental Health Following Preterm Birth Using an Expressive Writing Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Abstract

Evaluations of evidence-based, easily accessible, psychological interventions to improve maternal mental health following very preterm birth are scarce. This study investigated the efficacy and acceptability of the expressive writing paradigm for mothers of very preterm infants. The level of maternal posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms was the primary outcome. Participants were 67 mothers of very preterm babies who were randomly allocated into the intervention (expressive writing; n = 33) or control group (treatment-as-usual; n = 32) when their infant was aged 3 months (corrected age, CA). Measurements were taken at 3 months (pre-intervention), 4 months (post-intervention), and 6 months CA (follow-up). Results showed reduced maternal posttraumatic stress (d = 0.42), depressive symptoms (d = 0.67), and an improved mental health status (d = 1.20) in the intervention group, which were maintained at follow-up. Expressive writing is a brief, cost-effective, and acceptable therapeutic approach that could be offered as part of the NICU care.

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Acknowledgments

Antje Horsch was supported by the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne. We would like to thank all mothers who participated and Mehdi Mohammad Gholamrezaee for his statistical advice. Thank you to Karine Perretten, Laetizia von Laer Tschudin, Manon Macherel, Maria Campos, and Anaïs Torregrossa for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic of Neonatology, University Hospital Lausanne, Avenue Pierre-Decker 2, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Antje Horsch, Jean-François Tolsa, Leah Gilbert, Lauranne Jan du Chêne & Myriam Bickle Graz

  2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Antje Horsch

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Antje Horsch & Carole Müller-Nix

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  1. Antje Horsch
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  2. Jean-François Tolsa
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Correspondence to Antje Horsch.

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Horsch, A., Tolsa, JF., Gilbert, L. et al. Improving Maternal Mental Health Following Preterm Birth Using an Expressive Writing Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47, 780–791 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0611-6

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