NCT06996067

Essential Coaching Postpartum: Evaluating a Parent-focused Postpartum Text Message Program in Nova Scotia

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 332 (estimated)
• Sponsor: IWK Health Centre · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The transition to parenthood is often an exciting yet hard period for parents. In the first year after a new baby, many parents feel less confident, have more anxiety and depression, and feel more isolated and alone. During this time, many parents use their phones and the Internet to seek out information and support. Thus, the investigators are exploring the opportunity of using mHealth, or mobile health, to provide information directly to parents after the birth of their first baby. The investigators have developed a program for both birthing and non-birthing parents called the Essential Coaching Postpartum program. This program provides 332 parents with text messages sent for 6 weeks after birth to share information on newborn care and parent outcomes. This will be tailored based on whether they are the birthing parent (Essential Coaching for Every Mother) or non-birthing parent (Essential Coaching for Every Partner). The investigators will evaluate this program by comparing a group of parents who receive the messages to a group of parents do not receive any text messages. To determine the success of the Essential Coaching Postpartum program, the investigators will compare parents' confidence, anxiety, depression, and co-parenting between the two groups after six-weeks and six-months. The investigators believe that parents who get the text messages will have higher confidence and co-parenting outcomes and lower anxiety and depression. The investigator's goal with the Essential Coaching Postpartum program is to help make the first few weeks after a new baby less stressful by providing information and support directly to parents that they know they can trust.

Conditions

• Parenting Self-efficacy
• Postpartum Anxiety
• Postpartum Depression (PPD)
• Postpartum Stress
• Mental Health
• Co-parenting Practices

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Essential Coaching Postpartum	Essential Coaching Postpartum consists of one-way, standardized text messages sent to parents from birth to 6-weeks postpartum to provide evidence-based information on newborn care and mental health. Messages are sent twice a day for the first three weeks (10am and 5pm) and then once a day for the following three weeks (10am), starting the second day after birth.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-06-05
• Primary completion: 2026-12-01
• Completion: 2027-06-01
• First posted: 2025-05-30
• Last updated: 2026-03-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada