Effectiveness of using the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program on Postpartum Depression among Adolescent Mothers: A Posttest Only Quasi-experimental Design using a Comparison Group

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program on postpartum depression among adolescent mothers. Material and Methods: Study sample was 60 adolescent mothers who attended a prenatal care clinic and delivered at a tertiary hospital in Thailand. Convenience sampling was used to select the participants. Thirty participants were assigned into the intervention group and the comparison group. The comparison group received standard nursing care. The intervention group received the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program. Research instruments consisted of the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program, which was modified from the original Nursing Practice Guideline for Teenage Pregnancy, and research questionnaires including demographic data sheets, maternal and infant health records, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. All the research instruments were content validated and tested for reliability. Independent t-test and chi-square were used for data analysis. Results: The average depression score was statistically significantly lower in the intervention group than in the comparison group. Postpartum depression was experienced by 23.2% of adolescent mothers in the comparison group but by only 3.3% in the intervention group. Conclusion: The Centering Teen Pregnancy Program was effective in reducing postpartum scores and lowering the number of women having postpartum depression. Therefore, the introduction of the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program and the training of healthcare providers to integrate the Centering Teen Pregnancy Program into the standard care for the prevention of postpartum depression are recommended.