The Effects of Psychological Treatment of Maternal Depression on Children and Parental Functioning: A Meta-Analysis

Objective
Although it is well established that maternal depression can be treated successfully with psychological treatments, it is not yet clear whether successful treatment has a positive effect on the development and mental health of offspring.

Method
A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted of randomized trials on psychological treatments of depressed pregnant women and mothers; reported outcomes included parental functioning/marital distress, mother–child interaction, child development, child mental health, child length/height, and child weight.

Results
The meta-analysis included 47 randomized trials (51 comparisons between treatment and control groups; 7,745 participants). The interventions had a moderate effect on depression in mothers (SMD = 0.57, 95% CI [0.43, 0.70]). Significant effects on parental functioning/marital distress (k = 31, g = 0.23, 95% CI [0.07, 0.39]), mother–child interaction (k = 27, g = 0.34, 95% CI [0.12, 0.56]), and child mental health (k = 10, g = 0.29, 95% CI [0.12, 0.45]) were also found. No significant effect was found for child development, height, and weight, possibly because of low power. Heterogeneity was high in most analyses. Sensitivity analyses resulted in mixed outcomes, with some main results not supported, whereas others resulted in significant outcomes (child development, height, and weight) that were not significant in the main analyses.

Conclusion
Treatment of depressed mothers probably has small but significant effects on parental functioning/marital distress, mother–child interaction, and child mental health. This substantially increases the importance of making psychological treatments available to pregnant women and mothers with depression