# Advancing Insight into Maternal Social Support (AIMSS)

> **NIH NIH R15** · MEREDITH COLLEGE · 2021 · $354,408

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Postpartum mood disorders (PPMD) affect 8-13% of new mothers, with another 16-23% experiencing elevated
symptomology throughout the infant’s first year of life. A variety of interventions for PPMD exist, including
pharmacological and psychosocial treatments such as social support. However, existing research on advantages
of social support programs has been limited to the postpartum period only. As such, benefits of social support
programs during pregnancy have not been established, and little is known about the conditions under which
these programs may affect PPMD. CenteringPregnancy is a group-based prenatal care model with demonstrated
positive maternal and infant health outcomes when compared to prenatal care-as-usual (CAU). It addresses
many barriers commonly impeding prenatal mental health interventions, is a low-cost and easily disseminated
model, and has high patient satisfaction across diverse samples. However, documented outcomes are limited to
birth outcomes (e.g., reduced preterm birth rates, reduced low birth-weight, increased breastfeeding) and
prenatal maternal physical health such as gestational diabetes and smoking. The research examining the effect
on postpartum mental health is scant and limited by small sample sizes, absence of postpartum mental health
assessments, and narrow operationalization of mental health outcomes (e.g., depression only). The proposed
project will address these limitations by examining mental health benefits through the following Aims: 1) Use a
pre-existing dataset to determine under what conditions the CenteringPregnancy model versus CAU affects
maternal depression outcomes; 2) Gather new data to examine impacts as a clinical intervention on relevant
maternal outcomes (e.g., PPMD; interaction effects of PPMD and early parenting), while simultaneously
observing and gathering information on implementation in order to a) maximize clinical efficacy utility (i.e.,
focusing on internal validity), and examine b) clinical effectiveness (i.e., generalizability), and c) implementation
outcomes (i.e., acceptability, feasibility) in order to facilitate sustainability and scalability as an effective
intervention and prevention strategy for PPMD; and 3) Strengthen our research environment and engage
undergraduate students in collaborative research while mentoring and instructing them in research concepts and
processes (e.g., research methodology, participant recruitment, ethical and professional standards, data
collection and analysis, and scholarly productivity) as they relate to the CenteringPregnancy model, maternal
mental health, and relevant outcomes. The results of this research will contribute to the existing knowledge base
by advancing understanding of social support interventions relevant to maternal mental health and revealing
targeted points of entry for prevention and intervention programs to alter maternal mood disorder risk during
pregnancy and throughout the postpartum period. Further, the focu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10203611
- **Project number:** 1R15MH126403-01
- **Recipient organization:** MEREDITH COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Pamela Norcross
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $354,408
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2025-08-01

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10203611

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10203611, Advancing Insight into Maternal Social Support (AIMSS) (1R15MH126403-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10203611. Licensed CC0.

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