Interventions to treat mental disorders during pregnancy: A systematic review and multiple treatment meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background For women suffering from an antepartum mental disorder (AMD), there is lack of evidencebased treatment algorithms due to the complicated risk-benefit analysis for both mother and unborn child. We aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions to treat AMD and performed a meta-Analysis of the estimated treatment effect on the psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy. Methods MedLine, PsycINFO and Embase databases were searched by two independent reviewers for clinical trials with a control condition on treatment of women with AMD, i.e. major depressive (MDD), anxiety, psychotic, eating, somatoform and personality disorders. We inventoried the effect of the treatment, i.e. decrease of psychiatric symptoms at the end of the treatment or postpartum. We adhered to the PRISMA-protocol. Findings Twenty-nine trials were found involving 2779 patients. Trials studied patients with depressive disorders (k = 28), and anxiety disorders (k = 1). No pharmacological trials were detected. A form of psychotherapy, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (g = -0.61; 95%CI:- 0.73 to -0.49, I2 = 0%; k = 7) or Interpersonal Psychotherapy (g = -0.67; 95%CI:-1.27 to -0.07; I2 = 79%; k = 4), holds robust benefit for pregnant women with MDD. Body-oriented interventions (g = -0.43; 95%CI:-0.61 to -0.25; I2 = 17%; k = 7) and acupuncture (g = -0.43; 95%CI:-0.80 to -0.06; I2 = 0%; k = 2) showed medium sized reduction of depressive symptoms. Bright light therapy (g = -0.59; 95%CI:-1.25 to 0.06; I2 = 0%; k = 2), and food supplements (g = -0.51; 95%CI:-1.02 to 0.01; I2 = 20%; k = 3) did not show significant treatment effects. One study was found on Integrative Collaborative Care.