The control group parents received the standard perinatal care offered by the hospitals they were recruited from, which consisted of antenatal checkups, optional antenatal classes, care during their stay in the ward, and a postnatal review scheduled 6 weeks post partum. Perinatal care was provided to the parents by obstetricians, nurses, neonatologists, and lactation consultants. The intervention group parents received the standard perinatal care as well, but they were also granted access to the mHealth intervention SPA upon recruitment into the study. In addition, they were matched with trained peer volunteers, who were experienced mothers trained by the research team to provide peer support for the parents in the RCT.
SPA included a variety of pregnancy-, childbirth-, postpartum-, and infant care–related information. This included articles, audio files, and videos about birth preparation, bonding and attachment across the perinatal period, breastfeeding, baby care–related tasks (from bathing to safe sleep habits), and involvement of both fathers and mothers in baby care tasks. The information was curated by the health care professionals involved in the study so that parents could conveniently access reliable and accurate information. Expert advice, discussion forums, and frequently asked questions were also features of the mobile app that aimed to resolve any pregnancy- or childcare-related queries that the parents might have. The parents were encouraged to interact with the peer volunteer with whom they were matched if they needed emotional or informational support from experienced mothers who had previously had and recovered from postnatal depression. Detailed features of the SPA mobile app and peer volunteer intervention can be found in the published development study [26 (link)]. The SPA intervention was made available to the intervention group parents from the point of recruitment until 6 months post partum.
SPA included a variety of pregnancy-, childbirth-, postpartum-, and infant care–related information. This included articles, audio files, and videos about birth preparation, bonding and attachment across the perinatal period, breastfeeding, baby care–related tasks (from bathing to safe sleep habits), and involvement of both fathers and mothers in baby care tasks. The information was curated by the health care professionals involved in the study so that parents could conveniently access reliable and accurate information. Expert advice, discussion forums, and frequently asked questions were also features of the mobile app that aimed to resolve any pregnancy- or childcare-related queries that the parents might have. The parents were encouraged to interact with the peer volunteer with whom they were matched if they needed emotional or informational support from experienced mothers who had previously had and recovered from postnatal depression. Detailed features of the SPA mobile app and peer volunteer intervention can be found in the published development study [26 (link)]. The SPA intervention was made available to the intervention group parents from the point of recruitment until 6 months post partum.
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