The University of Iowa

Placebo-Controlled Trial of Sertraline and IPT for Postpartum Depression (IPT)

completed

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of sertraline and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) relative to pill placebo in a two site randomized controlled trial over a period of 12 weeks. It was hypothesized that sertraline and IPT would be more efficacious than pill placebo with respect to depression and social adjustment. The CTSDMC partnered with researchers at the University of Iowa and at Brown University for this study. There was an improvement for all postpartum women in all conditions. The results did suggest that active interventions with or without medication delivered over a period of twelve weeks can lead to significant improvement in depression and social adjustment among postpartum women. 

Trial results are available at ClinicalTrials.gov.