Telephone Support for Women during Pregnancy and the First Six Weeks Postpartum

Summary

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 27 studies with a total of 12 256 subjects examining telephone support versus usual care. In two trials women received automated text messages. Many of the interventions aimed to address specific health problems such as smoking cessation and relapse or breastfeeding continuation. Some studies examined support interventions aimed at women at high risk of postnatal depression or preterm birth, others were designed to offer women more general support and advice. For most of our pre-specified outcomes few studies contributed data, and many of the results are based on findings from 1 or 2 studies. Overall, results were inconsistent and inconclusive. There was no consistent evidence confirming that telephone support reduces maternal anxiety during pregnancy or after the birth of the baby. There was evidence from two trials that women at high risk of depression who received support had lower mean depression scores in the postnatal period, although there was no clear evidence that women who received support were less likely to have a diagnosis of depression. Results from trials offering breastfeeding telephone support were also inconsistent, although the evidence suggests that telephone support may increase the duration of breastfeeding. There was no strong evidence that women receiving telephone support were less likely to be smoking at the end of pregnancy or during the postnatal period. For infant outcomes, such as preterm birth and infant birthweight, overall, there was little evidence, and no clear differences between groups.