Apples for Health- Talking can preclude postnatal depression

Talking can preclude postnatal depression

TORONTO, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A heart-to-heart chat with a peer has proven an effective way to prevent postnatal depression in high risk women, Canadian researchers have learned.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that others who received peer support had half the risk of developing postnatal depression at 12 weeks after birth than those in the control group.

Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis of the University of Toronto and Canada research chair in perinatal community health examined the effectiveness of telephone-based peer support to prevent postnatal depression in high-risk women.

After Web-based screening of more than 21,000 women from seven health regions in Ontario, 701 high-risk mothers were recruited and randomized to receive standard postnatal care or standard care and the support of a peer volunteer -- someone who had experienced postnatal depression themselves.

The researchers also found that mothers were receptive to receiving telephone-based peer support and more than 80 percent said they were satisfied with their experience and would recommend this support to a friend.