The global burden of depression is high for women in both high income and low-and-middle income countries WHO. Depression is particularly common during pregnancy and in the postnatal period and phenomenology said to be the same as in non-child bearing age. Despite high prevalence of prenatal and postnatal depression in Pakistan, research on the effectiveness of psychological interventions is limited.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) intervention for maternal depression in Karachi, Pakistan.

A total of 50 mothers aged 18 years and above with children below 3 years of age, and experiencing mild to moderate depression were recruited. Assessments were done using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and EuroQol-5D at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and EQ-5D were also used to measure self-esteem and health related quality of life. Participants were randomly assigned into IPT plus treatment as usual (TAU) and TAU groups. Ten sessions of group IPT were delivered to intervention group.

Results indicated significant difference between intervention and control group on EPDS. The mean score at baseline for the IPT group (mean=14.76) reduced to (mean=6.40) (P<0.000) at 3-month and to (mean=6.64) (P<0.001) at 6-month intervals as compared to TAU (mean=11.44) (P<0.000) at 3-month and to (mean=11.08) at 6-month (P<0.001) after randomisation.

IPT is a successful fit for women with maternal depression in low-income areas and IPT can be the appropriate treatment option as it is time limited, specific, and evidence based.