An interventional study of art therapy and nothing in Pregnancy Related and Depression, sponsored by Medstar Health Research Institute. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-04-17.
Sponsored by Medstar Health Research Institute · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This is a prospective study examining the potential impact art therapy has on postpartum depression and mother-baby bonding in women. Women who receive care at Washington Hospital Center's will be recruited for this study.
The purpose of this research study is to assess whether alternative mental health interventions positively impacts maternal-infant bonding and postpartum depression rates in women. Postpartum depression continues to be a prevalent concern for mothers and families in the United States, with current estimates demonstrating 10-20% of women being diagnosed within one year of birth. The risks of developing postpartum depression are not well known, with maternal anxiety and stress during pregnancy being one of the proposed predisposing factors. Women with high-risk pregnancies are particularly susceptible to higher levels of stress and depression, during their pregnancy thus leaving them at great risk for postnatal depression. Given this association, finding ways to alleviate stressors is important.
Music therapy is a known intervention linked with improved outcomes in women undergoing procedural interventions, including labor and delivery. Art therapy is also associated with improved outcomes, though outside of obstetrics. In elderly women with depression and those with breast cancer diagnoses, visual art therapy has been shown to be superior to other non-medicinal interventions in improving mood. Current data is both qualitative as well as quantitative, demonstrating positive impacts on patients.
While evidence exists to support the utilization of these alternative forms of therapy, they have not been adequately applied to pregnant and postpartum women outside of music therapy. With the understanding that other art forms are tied with improvement in anxiety, depression, and quality of life, the implementation in this special patient population is paramount. Investigating how a relatively benign intervention can possibly promote improvement in maternal mental health, thus allowing for better mother-baby bonding in the first year of life, is key in finding ways to support the growth and development of healthy families.
8,057 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,641 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 100 is above the median of 84 across 6,720 interventional studies indexed under Depression.
Browse Depression studies →Medstar Health Research Institute is the lead sponsor of 160 studies on the registry; 32 are open to participants now.
Of its 14 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 6 (43%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Engage in six art therapy sessions
Other: art therapy
Engage in usual activities
Other: nothing
six sessions of art therapy with licensed therapists
no intervention to this group
changes in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores
raw score on scale
Time frame: start, and end of intervention period; time of delivery, two weeks postpartum, six weeks postpartum, three months postpartum
change in maternal-infant bonding scores
raw score on scale
Time frame: start, and end of intervention period; time of delivery, two weeks postpartum, six weeks postpartum, three months postpartum
utilization of behavioral health/psychology/psychiatry services during pregnancy and postpartum
chart review to see if patients utilized services "yes" vs. "no"
Time frame: start, and end of intervention period; time of delivery, two weeks postpartum, six weeks postpartum, three months postpartum
use of psychiatry medications during and after pregnancy
chart review to see if patients utilized services "yes" vs. "no"
Time frame: start, and end of intervention period; time of delivery, two weeks postpartum, six weeks postpartum, three months postpartum
obstetrical complications (postpartum hemorrhage, OASIS, ICU admission)
chart review
Time frame: up to 3 months postpartum
gestational age at time of delivery
chart review
Time frame: delivery
mode of delivery
chart review
Time frame: delivery
reason for delivery (iatrogenic vs spontaneous)
chart review
Time frame: delivery
birth weight
chart review
Time frame: delivery
APGAR scores
chart review
Time frame: delivery
NICU admissions
chart review
Time frame: delivery
delivery complications (shoulder dystocia, low birth weight)
chart review
Time frame: delivery
Plan to share: No
This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Medstar Health Research Institute