Postpartum therapy rankings depend on symptoms and follow-up
Therapy rankings differed for anxiety and depression, and evidence of lasting benefits remained uncertain.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Online cognitive behavioral therapy ranked highest for short-term anxiety, while interpersonal psychotherapy ranked highest for short-term depressive symptoms in the main analysis. The depression rankings changed when studies at high risk of bias were removed. No psychological intervention showed a statistically clear long-term depression advantage over usual treatment, leaving lasting benefits uncertain.
The abstract provides rankings without effect sizes or confidence intervals. It also does not define short- and long-term follow-up, and the short-term depression ranking was sensitive to study quality.
What researchers found
Long-term depressive symptoms
Any psychological intervention versus treatment as usual; the abstract does not define the long-term follow-up interval or provide effect estimates.
Rankings answer a limited question
The review compared psychological treatments for women with postpartum depression, considering anxiety and depressive symptoms separately. A therapy's position in a ranking does not reveal the size of symptom improvement or guarantee that it is best for an individual.
Why confidence remains limited
Removing studies at high risk of bias altered the short-term depression rankings. The lack of a statistically significant long-term advantage should not be read as proof that treatments are equivalent or that nobody experiences lasting improvement.
The original publication
Psychological intervention for postpartum depression: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Qin K, Liu D, Yu Y et al.
J Affect Disord · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41539611
- Record checked
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