PC2083: Impacting Postnatal Depression and Parenting Confidence in Racially Diverse Mothers Through Virtual Parenting Workshops During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Pre-pandemic data from the Center for Disease Control reveals that 1 in 8 women reported symptoms of depression after childbirth, yet most of them did not receive treatment. Maternal mental health problems are strongly associated with social drivers of health like poverty and gender-based violence. Minority and immigrant populations are especially at risk because they are adjusting to a new environment, may lack family support, and face financial or cultural barriers (e.g., language). With stress heightened by COVID-19, particularly in households of color and with low income, family mental health has continued to suffer. Untreated maternal mental health disorders have short and long- term consequences for women and their children and often lead to impaired maternal-infant bonding, poor infant growth, and childhood emotional and behavioral problems. In contrast, healthy attachments and effective parenting behaviors have positive influences on long-term development. A Dyadic model of care that serves the parent and child together, like the Incredible Years™ Parents and Babies (IYPB) program, has been found to improve outcomes for both, by strengthening parent-child relational health and overall family wellbeing, in addition to mitigating the impacts of adverse early experiences. This project aims to evaluate the impact of IYPB on mothers and infants in a vulnerable population.

Methods: IYPB is a parent-baby group facilitated by two trained professionals. Recruitment targeted English and Spanish speaking mothers and their infants ages 0-12 months, limiting 9 mother/baby dyads per group. The workshops are conducted weekly for 8 weeks, through Zoom. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were obtained using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale. Parents completed weekly evaluations, a final satisfaction survey, and a focus group.

Results: Four groups have been completed and two are in progress (N=37). The average age of mothers is 31.8 years and mean age of infants is 5.5 months. Demographic data demonstrated a diverse sample with 37.84 % identifying as Hispanic, 29.72 % as African American, and 21.62% as Filipino. Pre and post intervention data (N=17) using paired T-test, revealed a significant decrease in postnatal depression scores (t=2.54, p<.002). Although not statistically significant, there was also an increase in mean parenting confidence scores from 24.35 to 25.52. Focus group transcripts highlight the benefits of networking and learning from other parents and professionals. Barriers to participation included time constraints and occupation with childcare.

Conclusion: Virtual parenting groups during the pandemic allowed racially diverse mothers to connect with one another and build support networks. Preliminary data reveals that participation in IYPB was associated with a decrease in maternal depression scores and an increase in parenting confidence. Additional data will be analyzed to measure the effects of this program on maternal attachment and infant development.