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Introducing Mother Baby Connections: a model of intensive perinatal mental health outpatient programming

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Abstract

Perinatal mental health problems, experienced by 15–20% of women, are a significant public health issue associated with adverse effects among childbearing women; yet only 20–25% receive adequate treatment. There has been a recent proliferation of intensive perinatal day treatment programs in the United States. To meet this need in the greater Philadelphia area, we introduce Mother Baby Connections (MBC), an innovative interdisciplinary, attachment-focused, intensive, outpatient perinatal mental health program recently launched at Drexel University. The purpose of this paper is to (1) present an overview of MBC, its theoretical framework for services, and its evidence-based components, highlighting the unique factors that differentiate this program from traditional outpatient treatment, and (2) present clinical outcome data utilizing scores from reliable and valid scales, including enrollment to discharge outcomes from 20 months of MBC operation. In sum, outcomes for 20 predominantly minority women with complete measures showed significant improvements in maternal depression symptom severity, maternal functioning, birth trauma symptoms, perceived stress, parenting stress, and emotional regulation. Effect sizes were medium to large (i.e., 0.42–2.00). We conclude that MBC is a viable model for tailored intensive outpatient treatment to foster maternal mental health and functioning during the perinatal period.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express gratitude to the students, faculty and staff who are part of the Mother Baby Connections program, as well as the families who have participated in the program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Pamela A. Geller

  2. College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Bobbie Posmontier

  3. College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, USA

    June Andrews Horowitz

  4. Graduate Counseling Psychology Department, Holy Family University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Alexa Bonacquisti

  5. Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Lisa A. Chiarello

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  1. Pamela A. Geller
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  2. Bobbie Posmontier
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  3. June Andrews Horowitz
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  4. Alexa Bonacquisti
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  5. Lisa A. Chiarello
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Correspondence to Pamela A. Geller.

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Conflict of interest

Pamela A. Geller, Bobbie Posmontier, June Andrews Horowitz, Alexa Bonacquisti, and Lisa Chiarello declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights and Informed consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this report.

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Geller, P.A., Posmontier, B., Horowitz, J.A. et al. Introducing Mother Baby Connections: a model of intensive perinatal mental health outpatient programming. J Behav Med 41, 600–613 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9974-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9974-z

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