Session 1: Introduction and Maternal Depression
SMART goal: By the end of sessions, Participants will be able to define and describe maternal depression and identify at least three coping skills
Objective 1: The group will describe and discuss maternal depression and its misconceptions
Agenda: 50 minutes with a 10-minute break
* At the start of each session, write the topic and lesson plan on the whiteboard*
* At the start of each session, do an emotional and well-being check-in and prayer and music*
*Be aware that the time breakdowns are suggestions, and some activities may require more or less time depending on the group’s needs. A reminder that each sessions time breakdowns are an estimate *
Orientation – 5 Minutes
Instructors Introductions – 3 Minutes
Member Introductions/Icebreaker – 15 mins
Maternal depression Presentation- 5 minutes
10 Minnute break
Maternal Depression Discussion – 10 Minutes
Lesson plan
Group Facilitators arrive and prepare the room for the participants
- Play music while the group is arriving and getting seated: play from a Ghana Gospel playlist https://youtu.be/9oZHVSve1OI
Orientation:
The group will begin
- Commence the group by gathering in a circle with hands joined to say a prayer. Prayer will be told in the Native tongue of the participants
Distribute the expectations and rules handout.
Discuss the facilitator’s expectations and the expectations and rules handout.
Instructor introductions:
Share your name, why you decided to study abroad, and your favorite part about Ghana
Group facilitators will introduce themselves, explain what the main goal of studying abroad is, and give a brief synopsis of what the group is about.
Group facilitators will then share group rules and expectations ( if group members are able to read and write distribute a handout to be signed, otherwise verbal agreements will suffice.)
- Discuss confedatality
- Mutual Respect
- Volunteer Participation
State the purpose of the group: The purpose of the group is to educate participants about maternal depression, the risk, and protective factors, signs, and symptoms, and the effects on the family unit and child development.
Allow participants to share their thoughts and feelings about being in the group.
list of questions to ask
- Have you ever been to a group session before
- What do you hope to get out of the group
- How can the group facilitators help ease your fears and worries?
Member Introductions/Icebreaker:
The group facilitators will ask the members to share out, their ages, names, and there hometown
Do an ice breaker: 5 mins to get to know 5 things you have in common with someone and you do it again for 3 mins / 3 things and then 2 mins for 2 things ( each time you change the person)
Group members will go out and share what they found they had in common with each other ( assuming some of these girls will know each other as they are picked from the Bridge to Africa connection – this will be a great way for them to learn about people they think they may already know )
Presentation/ Discussion:
Maternal Depression PowerPoint presentation will be given by one group, facilitator ( copies of the presentation will be printed out and passed around)
10-minute break following the presentation; group facilitators should mingle around the room to talk 1-1 with group participants and to check on the emotional well-being of the participants
Group Facilotors will open the room for discussion following the break: allow participants to guide the discussion amongst each other and mediate where needed, all of them to share out first before speaking the conversations with premade discussion points
Example questions that group facilitators will use to guide the discussion:
- Have you heard of maternal depression before attending this group?
- What has your experience as a mother been like?
- What brought you to this group?
- What was your pregnancy journey like?
Group facilitators will conclude the session with a plan for the next session and say a closing prayer.
Materials:
Rules and expectations handouts, Pens and Pencils, Whiteboards, journals, dry-erase markers, emotional and well-being check-in sheet
References:
Saeed, N., Wemakor, A. Prevalence and determinants of depression in mothers of children under 5 years in Bole District, Ghana. BMC Res Notes 12, 373 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4399-
What is Maternal Depression? New York State Department of Health. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.health.ny.gov/community/pregnancy/health_care/