Supporting depressed mothers at home: their views on an innovative relationship-based intervention.

This study explored the responses of a group of 111 mothers who experienced distress and/or depression in the early months after childbirth and who received an innovative home visiting service until their child's first birthday. The current study reports a thematic content analysis of the qualitative questionnaire responses returned by the mothers after completing the intervention. The mothers valued the home visiting program for its capacity to increase their parenting confidence and to enhance their bond to their infants. They attributed this to the reassurance provided by the program and the skills and qualities of the home visitors. Their responses complement the benefits identified in quantitative analysis of the program and demonstrate its impact from participants' viewpoint.