A mindfulness and compassion-based program applied to pregnant women and their partners to decrease depression symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Pregnancy and the postpartum period are times of great change for women and their partners, often bringing substantial challenges and stress. Approximately 10%-20% of women suffer from mood disorders such as depression in the perinatal period. There are risks involved in using psychopharmacological interventions to treat perinatal depression.