Program reduces postnatal depression in young mothers
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Researchers in Tokyo, Japan, found that a program of sustained, personalized home visits improved the wellbeing of young first-time mothers.
The Early Partnership program provided practical and emotional support from pregnancy through the first year after childbirth. Unlike standard care which focuses on identifying risk factors, this program began by asking mothers what they needed to feel secure and build their lives. Family support workers visited participants, offering help with finances, daily life, and emotional wellbeing.
These workers collaborated with public health nurses, social workers, psychologists, and parenting-support professionals to provide coordinated care. The program prioritized a sense of having enough resources, time, money, health, and overall life satisfaction, a concept the researchers call yutori. A study compared 151 mothers receiving the Early Partnership program to 158 receiving standard care.
At six and twelve months after childbirth, mothers in the program reported greater improvements in their psychosocial needs and lower scores on a depression scale than those receiving standard care. Researchers measured a 4.16-point improvement on a 50-point scale of psychosocial needs at six months, and a 3.93-point improvement at twelve months. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to integrate this approach into its maternal and family support services.
