Effectiveness of Brief Psychological Intervention for Depression in Pregnancy (BIND-P): A multi-centric randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Authors

Prerna Kukreti, Ramdas Ransing, Pracheth Raghuveer, Mahesh Mahadevaiah, Smita N Deshpande, Triptish Bhatia, Manju Puri, Harish Pemde, V Omsai Ramesh, Ishwar Patil, Kumari Padma, Satish Shetty, Ravichandra Karkal, Sumit Rana, Dinesh K Kataria, Abhay Subhashrao Nirgude

Published in

Indian journal of psychiatry. Volume 68. Issue Suppl 2. Pages S314-S323. Epub Aug 17, 2026.

Abstract

Depression is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder among women during pregnancy but often goes undetected and untreated.
This study aimed to assess whether a brief psychological intervention for depression in pregnancy (BIND-P) delivered by nurses is efficacious in the treatment of depression as compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU).
A multi-centric, hospital-based open-label parallel group, randomized controlled trial was conducted at four sites across India (one each in Northern and Central India, and two in Southern India) from 2018 to 2022. A total of 1,352 participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to BIND-P and TAU groups. The primary outcome assessment was a reduction in PHQ-9 scores (from baseline to 8 weeks post recruitment). The secondary outcome was the outcome of pregnancy and infant development at 6/10/14 weeks post pregnancy.
Both groups demonstrated a reduction in PHQ-9 scores from baseline to follow-up. However, the between-group difference was not statistically significant (adjusted mean difference [BIND-P vs TAU]: 0.03; P = 0.91). The overall effect size was small (Cohen's d ≈ 0.05). Discontinuation rates were lower in the BIND-P group compared to TAU (17.34% vs 30.35%). Subgroup analyses suggested greater likelihood of remission among women who were older, had higher education, were from rural settings, had lower income, were primigravida, or had high-risk pregnancies. No significant differences were observed between groups in pregnancy or infant outcomes.
The BIND-P intervention was not inferior to TAU in reducing depressive symptoms but demonstrated lower discontinuation rates. As a low-intensity psychosocial intervention (LIPI), BIND-P may be a feasible and acceptable option for integration into routine maternal healthcare services, with potential to help reduce the treatment gap in perinatal mental health.

PMID:
42713198
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Sep 2026.

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