The impact of a family-based perinatal intervention on the mental health of adolescent mothers in Perú.

Abstract

Background: Although adolescent births have declined globally, low- and middle-income countries like Peru continue to experience high rates of adolescent fertility. Adolescent parents and their children face elevated health and developmental risks.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a perinatal family-based intervention to support the infant-caregiver relationship among adolescent parents in Lima, Perú.Methods: Our study consisted of 54 pregnant adolescents who were randomised to an intervention or usual care. The intervention consisted of 10 telehealth visits beginning during the third trimester of pregnancy and continuing through six months postpartum. Depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and resilience were measured at the time of enrolment and again after completing the intervention. Data were assessed by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and difference-in-differences models using mixed effects linear regression analyses. This was a pilot study not powered for significance.Results: Median depression and anxiety scores decreased for both intervention and usual care groups from pregnancy to six months postpartum; the median score for resilience increased for both groups. The difference-in-differences models predicted a decrease in depression and anxiety scores and an increase in resilience scores in the intervention group compared to the usual care group. Results demonstrated fewer symptoms of generalised depression and anxiety and higher resilience among those who received the intervention.Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for future studies to further characterise the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of telehealth interventions for adolescent parents and their families in low-resource settings and to compare telehealth with in-person intervention.