Evaluating the impact of home supportive counseling and telephone supportive counseling on postpartum depression and anxiety: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Psychiatry. 2025 May 20;25(1):510. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06953-7.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Childbirth and postpartum experience often lead to the significant physiological and emotional changes in mothers. Hormonal fluctuations, coupled with the adaptation to maternal roles, play a pivotal role in postpartum depression and anxiety. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of home and telephone supportive counseling on postpartum depression and anxiety.

METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 93 primiparous women aged 18-45 years attended the Taleghani and Al-Zahra educational and medical centers in Tabriz, Iran. Subjects were randomly assigned to the home supportive counseling, telephone supportive counseling, and control (receiving routine postpartum care) groups. Home and telephone supportive counseling were conducted for three 30-45 min sessions scheduled on postpartum days 3-5, 7-9, and 20-25. Data were collected using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale 10-15 days and 42-60 days postpartum, and analyzed using ANCOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

RESULTS: The mean (SD) depression score was 6.23 (3.09) in the telephone supportive counseling group, 4.78 (3.85) in the home supportive counseling group, and 5.79 (3.39) in the control group during 10-15 days postpartum (P = 0.016). The mean (SD) anxiety score was 28.11 (9.37) in the telephone supportive counseling group, 27.32 (7.38) in the home supportive counseling group, and 39.88 (7.73) in the control group during 10-15 days postpartum (P < 0.001). However, no statistically significant difference in depression and anxiety scores was observed among the three groups during 42-60 days postpartum (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Home supportive counseling effectively alleviates symptoms of postpartum depression within 10-15 days postpartum. Moreover, both home and telephone supportive counseling were found to reduce postpartum anxiety symptoms within 10-15 days postpartum. Considering the cost-effectiveness of phone counseling, it is recommended that healthcare providers use telephone supportive counseling to reduce early postpartum anxiety.

REGISTRATION CLINICAL TRIALS: Iranian Registery of Clinical Trials-Beta vertion, https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/trial/71775 (IRCT20170506033834N11), registered 2023.8.20.

PMID:40394535 | DOI:10.1186/s12888-025-06953-7