ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effectiveness of a brief psychoeducational intervention on postnatal depression in the slums, Nairobi: a longitudinal study Esther W. Kariuki 1 & Mary W. Kuria 1 & Fredrick N. Were 1 & David M. Ndetei 1,2 Received: 13 February 2020 /Accepted: 30 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Research has shown that postnatal depression (PND) is higher in low- and middle-income countries as compared to higher- income countries. Despite this, little is known about practical interventions in these poorly resourced countries. This research investigated the effectiveness of a brief, prophylactic and therapeutic psychoeducational intervention in a low-resourced com- munity in Nairobi. Two closely similar Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinics in urban slums in Nairobi were identified and randomly selected. A total of 567 mothers formed the study population. The experimental group (284) mothers received the intervention, which included psychoeducation on PND, coping skills, healthy way of mother/child interaction and infant stim- ulation in addition to routine treatment, while the control group (283) mothers received treatment as usual. Data was collected using a social-demographic questionnaire and the English version of Becks Depression Inventory (BDI) at baseline. At 6 months, we reassessed both groups using BDI only. Within group comparison, the percentage reduction of depression was 35.6% among the experimental as compared to 2.3% in the control group. Between group comparison, the mean BDI depression score was significantly low in the experimental arm compared to the control arm at endline (p = 0.025). When all variables were adjusted, using a generalized linear model, BDI depression score reduction among the participants was significantly associated with the intervention (p = 0.040). A brief, psychoeducational intervention that targets the mother and her infant may reduce PND even in poorly resourced environments. Therefore, it can be integrated into existing MCH services. Keywords Postnatal depression . Psychosocial intervention . Psychoeducation . Low- and middle-income countries Introduction Postnatal depression (PND) is a worldwide health problem (Almond 2009). It is prevalent in both developing and devel- oped countries and across cultures (Arifin et al. 2018). Postnatal depression negatively affects the mother (Kabakian-Khasholian et al. 2015; Woolhouse et al. 2014) and her infant (Murray 1992; Ueda et al. 2006). Research has shown that PND prevalence rates range between 1.9 and 82.1% in developing countries compared to 5.2% and 74.0% in developed countries using a self-reported questionnaire (Norhayati 2015). A research study that searched five databases found a higher (31.3%) PND prevalence rates among women in developing countries compared to women in developed countries (21.5%) (Villegas et al. 2011). Published research studies conducted in Kenya show high PND prevalence rates. For example, Ongeri et al. (2018) study reported an 18.7% prevalence rate in clinics of 2 major public hospitals in Nairobi at 6–10-week postpartum. Haithar et al. (2018) found a much higher PND prevalence of 64.1% in wom- en with children with malnutrition in a clinical setting. In con- trast, a prevalence of 13.0% was reported by Madeghe et al. (2016) in Kariobangi. Postnatal depression is a highly treatable condition. Various treatments which include antidepressants and psycho- therapy have proved to be useful (Ogrodniczuk and Piper 2003). Available research about the best treatment for PND is inconclusive (Boath and Henshaw 2001), but there are significant studies aimed to identify the best possible pre- vention and intervention strategies (Ogrodniczuk and Piper 2003). Postnatal depression can be prevented and treated by brief psychosocial interventions within the existing systems of * Esther W. Kariuki kariukiesther@yahoo.com 1 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi 00100, Kenya 2 Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya Archives of Women's Mental Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-020-01085-1