# Development of a Text Intervention for Perinatal Depression

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2024 · $234,359

## Abstract

About 1 in 7 pregnant individuals experience depression, with roughly the same number facing this devastating
illness after delivery. The downstream effects of perinatal depression adds to its toll with increased risk of
preterm birth; impairments in maternal-child attachment; adverse effects on infant development; and
decreased breastfeeding initiation/duration. The US Preventative Services Task Force finds that some major
depressive episodes (MDEs) can be averted with counseling strategies that employ principles from
interpersonal therapy (IPT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They also observe the value of peer
support, which can decrease perinatal depression. A possible shared mechanism for these interventions is
enhancement of self-efficacy, which is critical in the setting of stressful events such as pregnancy and
parenting. However, practical implementation of interventions to enhance self-efficacy and reduce depression
risk is challenging. Reproductive health providers have limited time and training to deliver depression
prevention programs. As well, perinatal individuals may not appreciate the need to participate in a prevention
program or have difficulty finding or affording providers of behavioral interventions. Technology can assist with
these challenges by providing education, support and therapeutic interventions to perinatal pregnant
individuals. Unlike web-based applications (apps), text messaging interventions (TMIs) can proactively deliver
health information and messages, even to those with limited motivation to engage in preventative interventions.
Mobile phone use has exploded with >95% of pregnant individuals (including >85% of the minority population)
reporting use of a mobile phone to communicate via short text messages. TMIs can also screen perinatal
individuals for depression outside the general medical setting and provide general peer support. With end-user
input throughout the process, we will build a multi-component TMI (called Text4Moms) that screens and
triages perinatal individuals for risk of a MDE. This system will draw content from both IPT and CBT; it will
send tailored text messages with links to relevant video content to perinatal individuals at risk for a
depressive episode. An on-demand secure chat function staffed by a peer navigator will complement the
text messages for enhanced support. The system will include pre-populated content for peers to cut and paste
into text messages for participants, which will support peers and decrease their training burden. This system
leverages some of the best components of an app (video, tailoring, chat) into a common and user-
friendly text messaging platform. After development, we will conduct a pilot randomized trial to test the
ability of the TMI to enhance the target of self-efficacy and decrease depressive symptoms and risk of a MDE.
We will query Research Domain Criteria (RDOC) constructs of “loss” and “threat,” and will evaluate preliminary
effectiveness an...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10874712
- **Project number:** 5R34MH130934-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Kimberly A Yonkers
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $234,359
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-09-20

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10874712

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10874712, Development of a Text Intervention for Perinatal Depression (5R34MH130934-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10874712. Licensed CC0.

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