Parents and Babies Pilot (PAB)

August 3, 2026 updated by: Leiszle Rae Lapping-Carr, Northwestern University

Parents and Babies: Pilot Testing an Inclusive Preventive Postpartum Depression Intervention

The goal of this study will be piloting the Parents and Babies perinatal depression prevention intervention to examine its feasibility and acceptability and to obtain preliminary data on its efficacy. This includes exploring/understanding users' experiences navigating the interventions (e.g., from an implementation perspective) and preliminary evaluations of clinical outcomes, including mental health and minority stress. With data gathered from this pilot study, we will make final adaptations to the Parents and Babies manuals and plan to develop a randomized-control trial to evaluate efficacy of the intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
16

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • self-identify as LGBTQ+
  • 18 years old or older
  • live in the USA or territories
  • speak and understand English
  • Currently pregnant or within one year of childbirth
  • Endorse current mild depressive symptoms or risk factors for postpartum depression

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Are unable to consent/have impaired decision making capacity
  • Have current active suicidal or homicidal ideation, active psychosis, or current mania
  • Are currently experiencing a severe depressive episode
  • Do not have audio and/or video capacity for attending group sessions remotely.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Virtual Group
Sessions will be delivered virtually. Includes participants from across the US.
Behavioral: Parents and Babies Virtual Group Intervention
Parents and Babies is a 10-session intervention adapted from Mothers and Babies, a nationally recognized intervention for depression during pregnancy and postpartum built on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment theory, and psychoeducation. Sessions are delivered virtually and led by a clinical psychologist.
Experimental: Hybrid Group
Sessions will be delivered virtually with three hybrid sessions with options for in-person attendance. Includes only participants located in the Chicagoland area.
Behavioral: Parents and Babies Hybrid Group Intervention
Parents and Babies is a 10-session intervention adapted from Mothers and Babies, a nationally recognized intervention for depression during pregnancy and postpartum built on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment theory, and psychoeducation. Sessions are delivered virtually and led by a clinical psychologist, with an option for in-person participation at three sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Implementation of Parents and Babies skills
Time Frame: T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3-months post-intervention)
Parents and Babies Skill Utilization Survey - 8 item questionnaire to determine the extent to which one agrees that the PAB course taught skills related to the core modules, was useful, and was easy to understand; using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3-months post-intervention)
Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is the 9 item depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire. It scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day). Higher scores indicate an increased severity of depression symptoms.
T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
Time Frame: T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarch, & Mermelstein,1983) is a 10 item measure of the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful with responses rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 =never to 4 =very often). Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress.
T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)
Time Frame: T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (Spitzer et.al, 2006) is a 7 item self-report measure used to assess anxiety. Participants are queried regarding symptoms during the past two weeks and responses are tallied on a four-point Likert scale. (0 = not at all to 3=nearly every day.) Higher scores indicate an increased severity of anxiety symptoms.
T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)
Time Frame: T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al. 1988) is a 12-item measure of perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family, friends, & significant other; using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Higher scores in each subscale indicate greater perceived support from that source.
T1 (prior to starting intervention), T2 (immediately post-intervention), T3 (3 months post-intervention)
The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM)
Time Frame: T2 (immediately post-intervention)
The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (Weiner et al., 2017) is a four-item measure of implementation outcomes to determine the extent to which one believes an intervention is appealing and satisfactory on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree to 5 = completely agree). Higher scores indicate greater perceived acceptability of the intervention.
T2 (immediately post-intervention)
Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM)
Time Frame: T2 (immediately post-intervention)
Intervention Appropriateness Measure (Weiner et al., 2017) is a four-item measure evaluating the extent to which one believes an intervention is suitable, relevant, compatible, and applicable to one's needs on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree to 5 = completely agree). Higher scores indicate greater perceived appropriateness of the intervention.
T2 (immediately post-intervention)
Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM)
Time Frame: T2 (immediately post-intervention)
Feasibility of Intervention Measure (Weiner et al., 2017) is a four-item survey measuring the perceived feasibility of an intervention on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree to 5 = completely agree). Higher scores indicate greater perceived feasibility of the intervention.
T2 (immediately post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Northwestern University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 3, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 19, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 3, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STU00225523
  • 5K23MD018092-03 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings