Nursing interventions to prevent postpartum depression during the first month postpartum for older Japanese primiparous women : a systematic review

Postpartum depression is a condition that is of concern to public health. However, nursing interventions to prevent postpartum depression during the early postpartum period have not been well established. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify nursing interventions that are available during the first month postpartum to prevent postpartum depression, with the aim of providing clinical recommendations for Japanese women aged 35 years and older who had already had their first child. After an initial search of published guidelines and systematic reviews, we searched for English and Japanese articles using MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsychInfo, and Ichushi-Web. Eight studies (n=4946), reported between 1998 and 2009, were identified that examined nursing interventions during the first month postpartum to prevent postpartum depression. The eight studies included five intervention types: debriefing (three trials, 2776 women); counseling (one trial, 103 women); professional-based or lay-based individualized home visits (two trials, 723 women); peer telephone support (one trial, 612 women); and providing support via support groups or a support manual (one trial, 732 women). Qualitative synthesis of the studies suggests that two intervention types would be effective in reducing the risk of developing postpartum depression: counseling including debriefing; and providing social support via a home visit or telephone. The Japanese culture and the current clinical practice should be carefully considered for providing recommendations for practice in Japanese primiparous women aged