Parentup - SMS-Based Maternal Support and Postpartum Depression Screening for Mothers in Urban Locales in the Philippines

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a condition that occurs in approximately 10- 18% of women following the birth of a child, and is a critical risk to new mothers and their babies. Research show that support programs are effective in assisting women manage and overcome their PPD. ParentUp is a mobile phone service which aims to provide informational and emotional support from pregnancy until a child’s early years, and can also be used by new dads. Through the Short Messaging System (SMS) channel, new parents will opt-in to receive information and mothers may be screened for PPD. The service will also connect the mothers to the appropriate caregivers via community health centers. Parents can also talk one-on-one with experts like midwives, lactation consultants, and volunteer parents, using a support hotline accessible via their mobile phone. The proof-of-concept will recruit pregnant women and/or new parents from 3 low-income communities in Caloocan City in the Philippines. The participants will subscribe to a SMS service via their mobile phones. They may opt-in to receive information and they will also answer screening questions which will be analyzed to see if they are at risk for PPD. Our idea will also generate the necessary data on PPD in the Philippines and the importance of support as a way to address PPD in an under-represented, high-risk population, as well as to examine the impact of these support mechanisms on the mental health of these women and their infants.