Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common childbirth complication that impairs the mother-infant relationship and contributes to long-term developmental challenges among children. Although PPD treatment reduces depressive symptoms, it is not necessarily sufficient to improve maternal-infant interaction. In addition, several barriers preclude timely access to care including mental health stigma, limited specialized providers, and challenges with navigating the healthcare system and securing necessary childcare and transportation. Our team developed a 12-session patient- and clinician-facing digital platform, MommaConnect that combines evidence-based therapies-- Mother Baby Interaction Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy-- to improve PPD symptoms and mother-infant interaction, address barriers to care, and provide support between therapy sessions. The purpose of this article is to describe the translation of our in-person approach to treating PPD and improving mother-baby interaction to our MommaConnect digital platform that integrates core psychotherapy components into a user-centered platform. METHODS: Our methods were guided by the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model and three stages of a nine-stage digital platform development process. In stage 1, we conducted focus groups to understand the needs of postpartum mothers who had experienced PPD and in-depth interviews to understand the concerns of perinatal mental health clinicians. We analyzed the qualitative data with thematic content analysis. In stage 2, we used component mapping to translate treatment modalities into the digital platform. Finally in stage 3, we used co-design, prototyping, and user-interface design to build the MommaConnect prototype. RESULTS: Results from the focus groups identified four themes including (1) barriers to accessing care, (2) preferences and needs in mental health care delivery, (3) feedback on the MommaConnect App, and (4) broader challenges and experiences. The in-depth interviews with the clinicians resulted in six themes including (1) assessment and early intervention, (2) barriers to care, (3) role of technology in treatment, (4) building a therapeutic alliance, (5) community and social support, and (6) addressing comorbid conditions. Additionally, the team translated the in-person treatment modality to a 12-session format and designed the current version of the MommaConnect prototype, which has both patient-facing and clinician-facing components. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: MommaConnect offers an innovative, accessible approach that combines Mother Baby Interaction Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy to treat PPD and improve the quality of mother-infant interaction. Its digital adaptation provides a treatment platform for mothers and clinicians to work together in real time and communicate between sessions. MommaConnect may expand access, reduce barriers to care, and inform the broader translation of evidence-based behavioral interventions into scalable, technology-enabled formats. This work has the potential to transform access to perinatal mental health care, improve maternal and infant outcomes, and reduce the long-term sequelae associated with untreated PPD and disrupted early relational experiences for infants.