# Efficacy of digital cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia for the prevention of perinatal depression - supplement

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $80,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT FROM PARENT AWARD
Approximately 1 in 7 women experience perinatal depression (i.e., during pregnancy or the postpartum period),
making it the most common complication of childbirth. Perinatal depression is associated with long-lasting
consequences, including increased risk of suicide, impairments in parenting, and immense societal costs.
Prenatal insomnia is a robust risk factor for perinatal depression: nearly 1 in 4 women who experience prenatal
insomnia develop postpartum depression. To date, depression prevention interventions mainly focus on
pregnant women with elevated depressive symptoms or a history of depression, and no trials have investigated
whether treating prenatal insomnia prevents perinatal depression. Digital cognitive behavior therapy (CBT-I) is
safe and effective for treating prenatal insomnia and shows promise for preventing perinatal depression
relative to standard care. Further, digital CBT-I may be of particular interest for pregnant women because it
minimizes wait time, avoids burdensome traveling and scheduling requirements, and meets their preferences
for flexible delivery options. The proposed project is a blinded randomized controlled trial to evaluate the
efficacy of digital CBT-I for the prevention of depression during pregnancy and through 12 months postpartum
among 498 non-depressed women with insomnia disorder relative to a credible, clinically-relevant control
condition. Consistent with other research, sleep hygiene education will be the control condition, and will match
digital CBT-I in delivery format (digital), frequency (weekly), and number of sessions (six). The proposed
confirmatory efficacy trial addresses three specific aims: 1) To evaluate the efficacy of digital CBT-I for
preventing perinatal depression; 2) To test whether the effect of digital CBT-I on perinatal depression is
mediated through prenatal insomnia symptom improvement; 3) To test whether the effect of digital CBT-I on
perinatal depression is moderated by baseline depressive symptom severity. By focusing on a low stigma
target (i.e., prenatal insomnia) and using a scalable intervention, this approach has the potential to facilitate
broad dissemination. The proposed project has high public health significance for reducing the burden of
perinatal depression for mothers, families, and society.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10794868
- **Project number:** 3R01MH126040-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Nicole Felder
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $80,750
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10794868

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10794868, Efficacy of digital cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia for the prevention of perinatal depression - supplement (3R01MH126040-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10794868. Licensed CC0.

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