"Becoming Parents": A Hospital-community Partnership

Expectant Couples Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01383551
• Other study ID #: UW 11-163
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: May 30, 2011
• Last updated: December 12, 2013
• Start date: June 2011
• Est. completion date: October 2013

Study information

• Verified date: December 2013
• Source: The University of Hong Kong
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Hong Kong: Ethics Committee
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 290
• Est. completion date: October 2013
• Est. primary completion date: October 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

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 Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Supportive Care

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Expectant Couples

Intervention

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.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Hong Kong	Princess Margaret Hospital	New Territories

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The University of Hong Kong	Kwong Wah Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, University of Michigan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Hong Kong, 

References & Publications (12)

Aston ML. Learning to be a normal mother: empowerment and pedagogy in postpartum classes. Public Health Nurs. 2002 Jul-Aug;19(4):284-93. — View Citation

Belsky, J., & Pensky, E. (1998). Marital change across the transition to parenthood. Marriage and Family Review, 12, (3-4), 133-156.

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.

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. — View Citation

Draper J. Men's passage to fatherhood: an analysis of the contemporary relevance of transition theory. Nurs Inq. 2003 Mar;10(1):66-77. — View Citation

Early, R. (2001). Men as consumers of maternity services: a contradiction in terms. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 25, 160-167.

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.

Krishnakmuar, A., & Buehler, C. (2000). Inter-parental conflict and parenting behaviours: A meta-analytic review. Family Relations, 49, 25-44.

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.

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.

Walther VN. Postpartum depression: a review for perinatal social workers. Soc Work Health Care. 1997;24(3-4):99-111. Review. — View Citation

* Note: There are 12 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	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	No
Secondary	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	No
Secondary	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	No