BACKGROUND:
Postpartum depression is a common mental health issue after childbirth and can negatively affect entire families. Antenatal education for male partners can enhance their parenting skills and thereby　contribute to the prevention of both maternal and paternal postpartum depression. Although previous systematic reviews have assessed the effectiveness of such interventions, recent changes in obstetric care delivery underscore the need for updated evidence.

OBJECTIVES:
To update the evidence on the effectiveness of antenatal education for male partners in preventing both maternal and paternal postpartum depression.

METHODS:
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched using terms such as ‘pregnan*’, ‘education*’, ‘partner*’, and ‘RCT’. The final search was conducted on 5 August 2024. Meta-analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.

RESULTS:
From the 5,862 screened studies, 11 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included, involving 3,190 pregnant women and 3,944 male partners. The findings showed that both the incidence (RR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.49 to 0.73) and severity (MD = -1.45, 95% CI = -2.12 to -0.77) of maternal postpartum depression at 1–3 months postpartum were significantly decreased. However, for other outcomes and timings, only trends towards a reduction were observed without statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS:
This review suggests that antenatal education for male partners may prevent maternal postpartum depression. However, evidence on the effectiveness for both maternal and paternal postpartum depression remains limited.

KEY MESSAGE:
This review highlights the potential of antenatal education for male partners as a strategy to reduce postpartum depression in both parents. However, further robust RCTs are needed to confirm its effectiveness. Poster session 2 (Group A)