Interventions to Prevent Relapse or Recurrence of Preconception Anxiety and/or Depression in Perinatal Women: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Women with preconception anxiety and/or depression experience high rates of relapse or recurrence of the disorders in the perinatal period. This review aimed to identify perinatal interventions that were designed to prevent relapse or recurrence in women with a history of anxiety and/or depression.

Methods: The review was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines. Six medical databases were searched with specific search strategies for each. The reference lists of literature reviews retrieved in this search were also screened, as well as the reference lists of reviews identified within these reviews. Additionally, the publications of the first authors of included studies were reviewed for relevant articles.

Results: There were 10 articles eligible for inclusion. These articles described pharmacological or dietary supplement interventions, as well as psychological and/or behavioural interventions. All identified studies focused on the prevention of recurrent depression, comprising four antenatal interventions and six postnatal interventions. No studies reporting interventions for the prevention of recurrent anxiety were identified.

Conclusions for practice: Several published studies provided evidence supporting the use of prophylactic antidepressants and progesterone to prevent relapse or recurrence of depression, although studies were limited by small sample sizes and the potential for study bias. More recent and higher quality evidence exists for the role of mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy in the prevention of depressive relapse. Further exploration of relapse prevention strategies for women with preconception anxiety and/or depression is required, particularly for recurrent anxiety.