Bringing Baby Home Down Under. A replication of Shapiro & Gottman's original 2005 Randomised Control Study, trialed in an Australian population with 8-10 year follow-up.

INTERVENTION: Brief name: Bringing Baby Home Down Under. The study is a randomised control, performed as an attempted partial replication and extension of Shapiro & Gottman (2005) doi.org/10.1207/s15327698jfc0501_1, It examined outcomes from ‘Bringing Baby Home’, a psychosocial workshop designed for expectant couples. Participants were recruited from attendees at an Australian suburban general hospital antenatal service. There were no exclusion criteria. Outcomes were measured using 2 of the 3 self‐report surveys used in the original study. The original study also video‐taped and coded participant couple interactions. The current study did not have the expertise or resourcing to do this. After recruitment, couples were randomised to ‘Workshop’ or ‘Control’. Data was examined as three groups, ‘Workshop’, ‘Control’ and ‘Intermediate’. The 'Intermediate’ group comprises couples who were randomised to ‘Workshop’ but did not complete it. 18 Workshops were delivered monthly over 2 years, each as 2 X6‐7 hour sessions on consecutive Saturdays in a face‐to‐face group format, with up to 9 couples and a facilitator. All workshops were delivered by the same facilitator, a midwife and antenatal educator with over 20 years experience. As suggested by the developers, the workshops were delivered to couples in third trimester. The workshop is designed as 18 modules. Each opens with a brief didactic overview of its topic area, followed by one or two interactive exercises conducted within couples. A number of the modules are also supported by short videos. The content is 'health‐focused' rather than 'problem‐focused'. The majority of the modules relate to communication, emotional engagement and regulation, and negotiation. E CONDITION: Antenatal Education;promoting positive transition to parenthood; ; Antenatal Education ; promoting positive transition to parenthood Mental Health ‐ Studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour Reproductive Health and Childbirth ‐ Antenatal care Reproductive Health and Childbirth ‐ Childbirth and postnatal care PRIMARY OUTCOME: Change in 6‐item subset of Locke‐Wallace Relationship Marital Adjustment Score (LW‐6), as used in doi.org/10.1207/s15327698jfc0501_1[12 month post‐birth] Change in Derogatis Symptom‐Check‐List 90 (SCL‐90) 'Global Symptom Index' (GSI), a measure of overall psychological distress. [12 months post‐birth] Change in SCL‐90 Anger subscale. [12 months post‐birth] SECONDARY OUTCOME: Full Locke‐Wallace Marital Adjustment Score[3 months post‐birth, 12 months post‐birth, 2 years post‐birth & 8‐10 years post‐birth] LW‐6 (subset of Locke Wallace Marital Adjustment tool items exploring relationship satisfaction)[3 months post‐birth, 2 years post‐birth & 8‐10 years post‐birth. ] SCL‐90 Anxiety subscale[3 months post‐birth, 1 year post‐birth, 2 years post‐birth, 8‐10 years post‐birth] SCL‐90 Depression subscales[3 months post‐birth, 12 months post‐birth, 2 years post‐birth & 8‐10 years post‐birth] SCL‐90 GSI, a measure of overall psychological distress[3 months post birth, 2 years post birth & 8‐10 years post‐birth] SCL‐Anger Subscale[3 months post‐birth, 2 years post‐birth & 8‐10 years post‐birth] INCLUSION CRITERIA: INCLUSION CRITERIA: Expectant couples. Recruitment was initially via the Calvary Public Hospital Bruce Ante‐natal Clinic. As the study progressed, it transpired that potential participant couples were being informed by word‐of‐mouth, but not necessarily registered with the Calvary Public Hospital Bruce Ante‐natal Clinic.