Enhancing parenting skills for pregnant women with depressive symptoms: a randomised controlled trial of triple P for baby in Kenya

Abstract

Despite the evidence in favour of Triple P for Baby (TPB), a parenting intervention to support parents at the transition to parenthood in high-income countries, little is known about whether the program would be efficacious in enhancing parenting skills and alleviating psychological distress among women in low-and middle-income countries. This randomised controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of TPB in Kenya with an urban-based sample of 82 pregnant women with depressive symptoms randomly assigned to the intervention (TPB) or standard care as usual (CAU) conditions. The intervention was delivered prenatally in four group sessions, and postnatally through four individually tailored telephone sessions. Participants were assessed at three-time points, and 90 % of participants were retained at follow-up. We applied intention-to-treat analysis and found improvements in maternal responsiveness and parental confidence and reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms for mothers in the TPB group relative to the CAU group. There were no between-group differences in maternal self-efficacy. Infants of mothers in the TPB group had better outcomes for attaining fine motor and receptive language milestones compared to infants of mothers allocated to CAU. The findings of this trial indicate that Triple P for Baby is an efficacious early parenting intervention for women with depressive symptoms in low-resource settings.