Elyse Couch, Htun Ja, Ghid Kanaan, Eduardo Lucia Caputo, Olivia Lewis, Michael L. Zahradnik, Margaret Howard, Lauren Connell Bohlen, Kristin J. Konnyu, Ethan M. Balk
BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression can have a deleterious impact on mothers and infants. PURPOSE: To evaluate psychological therapies for perinatal depression. DATA SOURCES: 6 databases from January 2000 to March 2025. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological therapies for people with depression during pregnancy and up to 1 year postpartum. DATA EXTRACTION: 6 researchers extracted study data and assessed the risk of bias and strength of evidence (SoE). DATA SYNTHESIS: = 1003) was probably more effective than TAU in reducing depressive symptoms by an equivalent -1.7 EPDS points (CI, -2.9 to -0.5 points) (moderate SoE) and may have greater recovery rates from depressive symptoms (RR, 1.2 [CI, 0.97 to 1.5]) (low SoE). LIMITATIONS: Participants were not blinded to treatment, study variation in country, interventions, populations, or reducing SoE. Differences may not be clinically important. CONCLUSION: For treatment of perinatal depression, CBT, behavioral activation, and IPT may be effective. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).