Research & Evidence

The content of the What Were We Thinking! (WWWT) program, the foundation of the app and blog, was derived from over 10 years of research evidence, clinical experience and wide consultation with new parents, maternal child and family health nurses, clinical and health psychologists, general practitioners, paediatricians, lactation consultants and parenting educators. Below you will find a number of key research publications that highlight the program's effectiveness and implementation.

Results from a cluster randomised controlled trial conducted in 2015 (Fisher et al., 2016) showed that there was a significantly lower prevalence of mild-to-moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety in women who participated in the WWWT program compared to the control group.

A controlled study in 2010 found that the program had a significant positive impact on participants’ ability to cope with the stressors involved in caring for a newborn baby and reduced the incidence of post-partum mental disorders in women (Fisher et al., 2010).

Key research publications

Fisher J, Rowe H, Wynter K, Tran T, Lorgelly P, Amir L, Proimos J, Ranasinha S, Hiscock H, Bayer J, Cann W. A gender-informed, psychoeducational program for couples to prevent postnatal common mental disorders among primiparous women: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 2016;6. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/3/e009396
Rowe H, Wynter K, Burns J, Fisher J. A complex postnatal mental health intervention: Australian translational formative evaluation. Health Promotion International; 2017; 32:610–623. DOI: https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/32/4/610/2950986
Rowe, H., & Fisher, J. (2010). Development of a universal psycho-educational intervention to prevent common postpartum mental disorders in primiparous women: a multiple method approach BMC Public Health, 10, 499. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1471-2458-10-499
Fisher, J., Wynter, K., & Rowe, H. (2010). Innovative psycho-educational program to prevent common postpartum mental disorders in primiparous women: a before and after controlled study. BMC Public Health, 10, 432. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1471-2458-10-432
Fisher J, Rowe H, Hiscock H, Jordan B, Bayer J, Colahan A, Amery V (2011): Understanding and Responding to Unsettled Infant Behaviour: A Discussion Paper for the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY). https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/area?command=record&id=123

For more information on the research behind the WWWT program, please contact the program's developers at whatwerewethinking@monash.edu.