Mindfulness app trial reports lower depression scores during pregnancy
Pregnant women using Avecmom alongside a monitoring app had lower depression scores at program completion than those using the monitoring app alone.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In this randomized trial, adding Avecmom to a self-monitoring app improved depression scores and several measures of emotional well-being at the end of the intervention. The abstract does not show how large the depression-score difference was in everyday terms, whether it lasted, or whether anxiety and stress improved.
Completion counts are internally inconsistent. The abstract also omits intervention length, absolute depression-score differences, and results for anxiety and stress.
What researchers found
Depression severity
At intervention completion, baseline-adjusted scores were lower with Avecmom plus Big 4+ than with Big 4+ alone; no absolute difference is reported.
What researchers measured
Researchers assessed depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress before and after app use. They also measured mindfulness, emotional well-being and attachment to the fetus, using analyses that accounted for starting scores.
A proposed pathway
A statistical mediation analysis was consistent with mindfulness changes followed by reduced depression contributing to better mental well-being. That proposed pathway remains an interpretation of the measured changes, rather than direct proof of how the app works.
The original publication
Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Mobile Intervention for Improving Perinatal Mental Health and Reducing Depression During Pregnancy: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Kim M, Park JY, Park S et al.
J Med Internet Res · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41037777
- Record checked
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