The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Postpartum Depression

Abstract

Background and purpose: Postpartum depression is one of the most important psychological problems of mothers in postpartum period, which may disrupt the relationship between the mother and newborn. Therefore, this study has been conducted aimed to investigate the effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on postpartum depression.

Materials and methods: The present study was a clinical trial with a pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up. 52 postpartum women referring to comprehensive health centers of Arak with moderate depression scores were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to one of two groups of intervention (n = 26) and control (n = 26). Data collection tool was demographic questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory. Beck Depression Inventory was completed before, immediately and two months after the intervention by the groups. For the intervention group, 8 sessions of 90-minute acceptance and commitment therapy were held once a week. The data were analyzed using software SPSS24 and Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results: Depression score immediately after the intervention in the intervention group (17.3 ± 4.2) and control (26.5 ± 3.1), two months after the intervention in the intervention group (12.4 ± 3.8) / 12 and control (25.61 ± 3.4) showed a significant difference (p-v <0.05).

Conclusion: The results showed that acceptance and commitment therapy significantly reduced postpartum depression compared with the control group