"Becoming Parents": A Hospital-community Partnership

"Becoming Parents": A Hospital-community Partnership to Enhance Transition to Parenthood

The proposed of this study is to determine if an intervention, known as the "Becoming Parents" programme, is more effective in improving the mental health, marital relationship and parental competence of expectant couples in a Chinese community.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Expectant Couples
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: "Becoming Parents" intervention

Detailed Description

Transition to parenthood is potentially a stressful life event for many new parents, which, if not properly managed, could have adverse effects on their mental health, marital satisfaction, and parent-child relationships. The proposed programme, "Becoming Parents", aims to turn the challenges of the transition into opportunities of learning and support for these parents. Building on our experience of instituting a pioneering programme to support new fathers prenatally, "Becoming Parents" has an extra component of support for new parents in the postnatal period using trained volunteers from the community networks. Through "Becoming Parents", seamless antenatal-postnatal care based on a hospital-community partnership will be provided to 125 expectant couples in a target community which is known for its high risks for postnatal depression, child abuse and intimate partner violence. In addition to addressing the health promotional needs of the target community, "Becoming Parents" will also illustrate how a community's capacity for health promotion can be maximized through the collaboration of healthcare providers and network of community partners in helping couples function more optimally during their transition to parenthood.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 290
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • New Territories, Hong Kong
    • Princess Margaret Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 18 years of age or older
2. Expectant couples with the pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Princess Margaret Hospital before 20 weeks of gestation.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Expected couples who are unable to communicate in Cantonese, Putonghua or English.
2. Multiple pregnancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: "Becoming Parents" intervention; A "Becoming Parents" Programme consists of: (i) 3 antenatal workshops conducted over a period of 10-14 weeks in prenatal period; and (ii) support provided by trained volunteers for up to 3 months post-delivery; in addition to the usual prenatal education.	Behavioral: "Becoming Parents" intervention; A "Becoming Parents" programme consists of: (i) 3 antenatal workshops conducted over a period of 10-14 weeks in prenatal period; and (ii) support provided by trained volunteers for up to 3 months post-delivery; in addition to the usual prenatal education.
No Intervention: Usual prenatal education; Attend usual prenatal classes which will be provided by the midwives in the hospital.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Depressive Symptoms at 3 months postpartum	The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is used to measure women's distressed mood or dysphoria at baseline and also at 3 months postpartum	Baseline and 3 months postpartum

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Parental Competence at 3 months postpartum	The Parental Sense of Competence Scale is used to measure parenting efficacy and satisfaction at baseline and also at 3 months postpartum	Baseline and 3 months postpartum
Change from Baseline in Marital Satisfaction at 3 months postpartum	The Dyadic Adjustment Scale is used to measure couples' consensus, cohesion, satisfaction and affection expression at baseline and also at 3 months postpartum	Baseline and 3 months postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Collaborators: University of Michigan; Kwong Wah Hospital; Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Aston ML. Learning to be a normal mother: empowerment and pedagogy in postpartum classes. Public Health Nurs. 2002 Jul-Aug;19(4):284-93. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1446.2002.19408.x.
• Doherty WJ, Erickson MF, LaRossa R. An intervention to increase father involvement and skills with infants during the transition to parenthood. J Fam Psychol. 2006 Sep;20(3):438-47. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.438.
• Walther VN. Postpartum depression: a review for perinatal social workers. Soc Work Health Care. 1997;24(3-4):99-111. doi: 10.1300/J010v24n03_08.
• Draper J. Men's passage to fatherhood: an analysis of the contemporary relevance of transition theory. Nurs Inq. 2003 Mar;10(1):66-77. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1800.2003.00157.x.
• Belsky, J., & Pensky, E. (1998). Marital change across the transition to parenthood. Marriage and Family Review, 12, (3-4), 133-156.
• Krishnakmuar, A., & Buehler, C. (2000). Inter-parental conflict and parenting behaviours: A meta-analytic review. Family Relations, 49, 25-44.
• Cowan, C., & Cowan P. (1995). Interventions to ease the transition to parenthood: Why they are needed and what they can do. Family Relations, 44, 412-414.
• Markman, H., & Hahlweg, K. (1993). The prediction and prevention of marital distress: an international perspective. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 29-43.
• Minsky, R., Garfinkel, I., & Neprmnyaschy, L. (2005). In-hospital paternity establishment and father involvement in fragile families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 67(3), 611-626.
• Gottman, J.M., Shapiro, A.F. Parthemer, J. (2004). Bringing Baby Home: A workshop for new and expectant parents. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 19(3), 28-30.
• Early, R. (2001). Men as consumers of maternity services: a contradiction in terms. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 25, 160-167.
• Tiwari, A. Leung, W.C., Yuen, K.H., & Wong, J. (2010). Positive fathering: A programme to enhance the mental health and marital relationship of expectant couples. A progress report for a HCPF-funded project submitted to Research Fund Secretariat, Health Care and Promotion Fund Committee on June 29, 2010.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): June 28, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 16, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2013
• Last Verified: December 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Marital relationship; Parental competence
• Other Study ID Numbers: UW 11-163