HeartGPS: A Study Exploring the Effects of a Psychological Intervention for Parents and Their Babies After Prenatal Cardiac Diagnosis

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Heart Defects, Congenital; Trauma, Psychological; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Depression, Postpartum; Anxiety in Pregnancy

Treatments: Behavioral: HeartGPS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06175104

SPR201912

Details and patient eligibility

About

Babies with single ventricle congenital heart disease (SVCHD) are often diagnosed during pregnancy. While prenatal diagnosis has important clinical benefits, it is often stressful and overwhelming for parents, and many express a need for psychological support. HeartGPS is a psychological intervention for parents who receive their baby's diagnosis of SVCHD during pregnancy. It includes 8 sessions with a psychologist, coupled with tailored educational resources, and a personalized care plan. The intervention focuses on fostering parent psychological adjustment and wellbeing, and supporting parents to bond with their baby in ways that feel right for them. Through this study, the investigators will learn if HeartGPS is useful and effective for parents and their babies when it is offered in addition to usual fetal cardiac care. The investigators will examine the effects of the HeartGPS intervention on parental anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress; fetal and infant brain development; parent-infant bonding; and infant neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The investigators will also explore mechanisms associated with stress biology during pregnancy, infant brain development and neurodevelopmental outcomes, and parent and infant intervention effects.

Full description

Maternal prenatal stress and anxiety can affect brain development in fetuses with and without congenital heart disease (CHD), influencing neurodevelopmental trajectories and establishing a neural basis for phenotypes associated with adverse mental health outcomes later in life. The prenatal period offers a critical window of opportunity, when ameliorating maternal psychological stress is likely to have enormous benefits for parents and their babies. Yet, there is a remarkable lack of prenatal interventions to support parent mental health and optimize child development during this period. This longitudinal randomized controlled trial compares a novel, 8-week, prenatally-delivered psychological intervention (called HeartGPS) to usual fetal cardiac care. In comparison with usual care, the study aims are to examine the effects of HeartGPS on: (1) maternal psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress) across the perinatal period; (2) fetal and infant brain development; (3) infant neurodevelopment; and (4) parent-infant behavioral synchrony. The study will also explore how neurobiological, psychological, behavioral, and social factors may explain intervention effects.

Across multiple sites, the investigators will enroll 104 mothers and their babies with single ventricle congenital heart disease to receive usual fetal cardiac care or usual fetal cardiac care plus the HeartGPS intervention. HeartGPS includes psychology sessions during pregnancy and the early postpartum period, coupled with tailored educational resources, and a personalized care plan to support longer-term parent, child, and family mental health and wellbeing. Maternal prenatal assessments will be performed at baseline (pre-randomization) and approximately 36-weeks gestation followed by maternal and infant assessments at approximately infant age 28-days, 6-months, and 12-months. Fetal neuroimaging will occur at approximately 36-weeks gestation and infant neuroimaging will take place at approximately infant age 28-days, using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Placental tissue, maternal, paternal and infant blood, and maternal and infant saliva samples will also be collected. The primary outcomes for the trial are changes in maternal anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress scores from baseline to 6-months postpartum. Secondary outcomes include neonatal neurobehavior (NeoNatal Neurobehavioral Scale), infant neurodevelopment at 12 months (Bayley Scales of Infant Development), and mother-infant behavioral synchrony at 12 months (CARE-Index). In addition to rigorously testing a promising new therapy, this study will generate knowledge to accelerate treatments for maternal prenatal psychological stress and define mechanisms underlying the fetal origins of brain development and neurodevelopmental outcomes in CHD.

Enrollment: 104 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Pregnant person carrying a fetus diagnosed with single ventricle congenital heart disease (CHD).
2. Single ventricle CHD diagnosis between 16 and 30 weeks gestation.
3. Singleton pregnancy.
4. Pregnant person is planning to continue with the pregnancy.
5. Pregnant person is able to participate and complete study assessments in English.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Fetus with comorbid condition with a predictable adverse impact on neurodevelopment (e.g., DiGeorge Syndrome).
2. Fetal or maternal medical condition determined by treating physician to be contraindicative to study participation.
3. Parent with an untreated major psychiatric condition, substance use disorder, or other circumstances that would interfere with study engagement or safe participation in the trial.
4. Parent with a moderate to severe intellectual disability.
5. Parent age <18 years.
6. Surrogate for pregnancy.

Prenatal administration of oral or intravenous corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation will be recorded but are not a reason for exclusion.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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104 participants in 2 patient groups

HeartGPS (Treatment Arm)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive usual fetal cardiac care plus the HeartGPS intervention. This is a novel psychological intervention leveraging virtual technology and user-centered design to reduce maternal psychological stress and anxiety after prenatal cardiac diagnosis and improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants with single ventricle CHD. GPS stands for: Guiding through emotions, Providing information and support, and Strengthening connections. The intervention includes sessions with a trained psychologist, coupled with tailored educational resources, and a personalized care plan to support longer-term parent, child, and family wellbeing.

Treatment:

Behavioral: HeartGPS

Usual Fetal Cardiac Care (Control Arm)

No Intervention group

Description:

In the usual care arm, participants will receive the information, support, and resources currently offered by their fetal heart care team. This can include support from their doctor or nurse, a social worker, psychologist, or support group, as well as information booklets, websites, and other resources to help parents learn more about their baby's heart condition.