Care4mommies in Action: A Compassion-based Intervention

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Care4mommies: Compassion-focused Therapy based psychological group intervention aimed to cultivate compassion abilities to deal with the challenges of the perinatal period.

Birth preparation courses: Birth preparation courses provided by the ULS Alto-Ave

Study summary

Becoming a mother is a life-changing event that many experience as a time of joy and affection. However, it can also be a period of great vulnerability and uncertainty with the potential to hinder the mother's well-being and bonding with the baby, and undermine the child's later emotional, social, and cognitive development. The mothers' emotional regulation skills, namely self-compassion, may be useful in protecting the mother and the mother-baby bonding, making them a valuable target of intervention during the perinatal period and a potential protective factor for mental health. Although compassion-based interventions (CBIs) have been proven effective in promoting well-being and reducing mental health difficulties across diverse populations, including the perinatal period, evidence of their impact on maternal well-being and the mother-baby bond remains limited. Thus, the research team propose to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of a CBI during pregnancy on mothers' compassion abilities, and consequent impact on well-being and quality of mother-baby bonding at postpartum.

This pilot cluster randomised trial addresses the research question of 'Does the Care4mommies intervention work to promote mothers' compassion and higher quality of the mother-baby bonding?' Participants will be mothers enrolled in group birth preparation courses (i.e., TAU); those groups will be randomly allocated to Care4mommies plus TAU or TAU only and assessed at pre-intervention and post-intervention(prepartum), and 3-month follow-up(postpartum). At pre- and postintervention, participants will be asked to provide self-reported information on self-compassion, shame and guilt about caring, maternal-fetal attachment, fear of self-compassion, self-criticism, and mental health. At post-intervention, they will also be asked to appraise data collection procedures and the implementation feasibility of the Care4mommies; at follow-up, they will be asked to report on their bonding to their baby. Researchers expect that participants in the Care4mommies plus TAU condition will report significant gains at post-intervention and sustain them until follow-up, both in relation to the mother and in mother-baby bonding, compared to the TAU group. Also it is expected that changes in self-compassion-related variables will explain changes in mother-fetal attachment and postpartum mother-infant bonding.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Parent Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) — three-months follow-up T3 (3 months postpartum)
  The Parent Bonding Questionnaire is a 12-item self-reported questionnaire that assesses Mother-baby bonding. The responses are given on a 6-point Likert scale (ranging from 0 = 'Never' to 5 = 'Always'). Scores range from 0 to 60. Items with negative valence will be reverse-coded so that higher scores reflect better quality of mother-infant bonding.
• Self- Compassion scale from the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales (CEAS-SC) — 1 week before intervention (T1); immediately after the intervention (T2) and at three-months follow-up (T3; 3 months postpartum).
  The Self- Compassion scale from the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales is an 11-item self-reported questionnaire that assesses self-compassion engagement and actions. The responses are given on a 10-point Likert scale (from 1 = "never" to 10 = "always"). Scores range from 11 to 110, with higher scores reflecting more self-compassion abilities.
• Caring shame and guilt scale- Adapted (CSGS) — three-months follow-up T3 (3 months postpartum)
  Caring shame and guilt scale- Adapted is a 12-item self-reported questionnaire that assesses shame and guilt about caring. The responses are given on a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from 1 = "Not at all typical/characteristic of me" to "0 = "Extremely typical/characteristic of me"). Scores range from 0 to 48, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of shame and guilt feelings.

Trial sites (1)

Other trials for the same condition