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Spanish-speaking Latinas in the United States encounter significant barriers when seeking culturally responsive treatment for perinatal mental health disorders, resulting in treatment disparities and elevated rates of mental health symptoms. To address these challenges, peer-delivered support may be one promising strategy. This study examined the efficacy of Alma, a peer-delivered behavioral activation (BA) program comprising 6-8 sessions. Participants (N = 126) were Spanish-speaking Latina mothers experiencing elevated depression symptoms during the perinatal and early parenthood period. Participants were recruited through three community partner sites across rural and urban settings. Participants reported high satisfaction with the program and experienced decreases in depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress. Importantly, significant clinical improvements occurred early in the program, indicating a rapid relief of symptoms. This symptom reduction was associated with improvements in putative mechanisms of BA, including activity level and environmental reward. Limitations of this study include participant attrition and the absence of a control group. Together, the findings indicate that Alma is a promising program to address depressed mood, anxiety, and stress among Spanish-speaking Latina mothers during the perinatal/early parenthood period, offering accessible and culturally responsive mental health support. Moreover, by meeting the mental health needs of Spanish-speaking Latina mothers, Alma holds promise for mitigating mental health disparities in underserved communities., (Copyright © 2025 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for the mental health of African American (AA) birthing people. The pandemic necessitated shifting mental health care to online interventions. The goals of this study were to (1) describe an adapted evidence-based group preventive intervention for AA mothers with young children within a pediatric setting and (2) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of this virtual intervention. Phase 1 describes the adaptation of the HealthySteps Mom's Virtual Wellness Group, including eight weekly sessions based on the Mothers and Babies Course. Phase 2 was a mixed-methods, pre-post intervention design. Six AA mothers with young children completed questionnaires related to depression, anxiety, and parenting competence at three time points: pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 3 months post-intervention (T3). The participants also completed a focus group post-T2 to gather qualitative feedback regarding the intervention. The median scores for depression were lower at T2 and increased at T3, and for anxiety, they increased at T2 and decreased at T3. The median scores for parenting competence increased across the three time points. The participants attended a mean of 7.2 sessions (SD = 0.74). The qualitative results indicate that the participants gained a sense of empowerment, enjoyed connecting with other mothers, and acquired information. This pilot study suggests that a virtual intervention is feasible, acceptable, and can increase parenting competence and support among AA mothers with young children.

Objective : The effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural intervention to prevent perinatal depression in low-income Latina immigrant pregnant women and mothers receiving WIC services was evaluated in a mixed methods study using a community based observational design. Background : The Mothers and Babies Course is a preventive intervention for perinatal depression that is based on cognitive behavioural theory (CBT). CBT is an evidence-based treatment and preventive intervention for perinatal depression. Method : Phase 1 includes 86 Latinas, predominantly Central American immigrant women at high risk for depression, who self-selected into the Mothers and Babies Course, a six-week Spanish CBT group intervention aimed at teaching women mood regulation skills to prevent the onset of depression. Participants, who were recruited from the Women, Infants, and Children services, completed measures of depression and psychopathology at pre-, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-intervention. Phase 2 includes qualitative interviews with a randomly selected subsample (n = 26) from Phase 1 to understand the mechanisms and impact of participants' experiences with the intervention and study. Results : Results indicated no significant differences in depressive symptoms among participants with varied attendance levels (0 class; 1-3 classes = non-completers; 4-6 classes = completers). None of the participants met diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder at the final data collection period. Despite the varied attendance, both quantitative and qualitative results indicated that completers and non-completers reported similar experiences in the intervention and benefiting from study participation. Conclusion : Conducting mixed methods research highlights the complexity of understanding who can benefit from preventive interventions.

Depression during pregnancy is a significant public health problem that is associated with adverse consequences for women and children. Despite the availability of treatment options, depression during pregnancy is often undertreated. Most pregnant women prefer nonpharmacological interventions over antidepressant medications. We review the evidence base for psychotherapeutic treatment approaches to depression during pregnancy. Treatments reviewed include interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavioral activation, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. We review both traditional face-to-face delivery and digital interventions. We conclude with recommendations for treatment preferences, collaborative decision-making, and strategies to improve uptake of such services among prenatal women.

The nematode C. elegans utilizes a relatively simple neural circuit to mediate avoidance responses to noxious stimuli such as the volatile odorant octanol. This avoidance behavior is modulated by dopamine. cat-2 mutant animals that are deficient in dopamine biosynthesis have an increased response latency to octanol compared to wild type animals, and this defect can be fully restored with the application of exogenous dopamine. Because this avoidance behavior is mediated by glutamatergic signaling between sensory neurons and premotor interneurons, we investigated the genetic interactions between dopaminergic signaling and ionotropic glutamate receptors. cat-2 mutant animals lacking either the GLR-1 or GLR-2 AMPA/kainate receptors displayed an increased response latency to octanol, which could be restored via exogenous dopamine. However, whereas cat-2 mutant animals lacking the NMR-1 NMDA receptor had increased response latency to octanol they were insensitive to exogenous dopamine. Mutants that lacked both AMPA/kainate and NMDA receptors were also insensitive to exogenous dopamine. Our results indicate that dopamine modulation of octanol avoidance requires NMR-1, consistent with NMR-1 as a potential downstream signaling target for dopamine.

We conducted exit interviews with a random sample of 39 predominantly Central American immigrant mothers who had completed a longitudinal randomized controlled trial to prevent perinatal depression. We found that rates and levels of perinatal depression in the intervention and control groups were lower than expected and did not differ between groups at 1 year postpartum. Therefore, we conducted extensive semistructured interviews to (a) understand why these high-risk women had such low rates of major depressive episodes and depressive symptoms, and (b) determine if the mechanisms responsible for reductions in depression differed between the intervention and usual care groups. We discovered that the intervention group learned specific mood-management skills from their participation in the intervention, and that the control group experienced their participation in the study as a "low-dose" intervention. Our experience highlights the importance of conducting qualitative studies to understand quantitative outcomes of intervention studies.

The objectives of the present study were the subtyping of Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni strains obtained from humans and different animal species using PCR-RFLP, and the detection, by means of the same technique, of strains related to serotype PEN O19:LIO 7, the main C. jejuni serotype linked to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Seventy C. jejuni strains isolated from human feces (n=33), primates (n=15), dogs (n=5), swine (n=2), bovines (n=1), abortion material from goats (n=2) and poultry carcasses (n=12), all collected in the state of São Paulo, were subtyped by means of PCR-RFLP of fla A gene, using restriction endonucleases Hae III, Afa I and Mbo I. Seven subtypes were observed when using the enzyme Hae III; eight when using Mbo I; and seven when using Afa I. The combination of the three endonucleases led to 16 fla-RFLP subtypes, from which ten subtypes shared strains of human and animal origin. From these, seven subtypes were observed in human and broiler strains. In eight subtypes, the other animal species shared patterns with human strains. It was inferred that, besides broilers, swine, goats, dogs and primates may be sources of infection for human in São Paulo. PCR-RFLP is a highly discriminatory technique that may be applied to molecular epidemiology studies of samples from different origins. Besides, the study also enabled the detection of two human strains and two primate strains related to serotype PEN O19: LIO 7.