Role of psychotherapy on antenatal depression, anxiety, and maternal quality of life: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are common psychological manifestations encountered during the antenatal stage of pregnancy. Treatments by pharmacological interventions have been reported to impart negative implications on maternal and fetal health outcomes. Therefore, the use of psychotherapeutic interventions to bypass these side-effects and manage depression, anxiety has received a lot of attention. A meta-statistical consensus regarding the intervention is available, but with several limitations. In this study, we attempt to address these limitations and provide the current state of evidence evaluating the influence of psychotherapy on antenatal depression, anxiety, and maternal quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the effects of psychotherapy on depression, anxiety, and maternal quality of life during the antenatal stage of pregnancy. METHODS: A systematic identification of literature was performed according to PRISMA guidelines on four academic databases: MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. A meta-analysis evaluated the influence of psychotherapy on depression, anxiety, and maternal quality of life as compared to conventional obstetric care. RESULTS: Out of 1146 records, 22 articles including 2146 pregnant women (mean age: 28.6 ± 2.8 years) were included in this review. This systematic review presents a 1b level of evidence supporting the use of psychotherapy for reducing depression, anxiety and enhancing maternal quality of life. The meta-analysis reveals the beneficial effects of psychotherapy for reducing depression (Hedge g: −0.48), anxiety (−0.47) and enhancing maternal quality of life (0.19) as compared to conventional obstetric care. CONCLUSIONS: The current systematic review and meta-analysis recommend the use of psychotherapy as for reducing depression, anxiety and enhancing maternal quality of life during the antenatal stage of pregnancy.