{
  "abstract": "Background: Adolescent motherhood, especially in marginalized populations, presents psychological and emotional challenges that can affect maternal-infant bonding and maternal self-efficacy. This study evaluated the effect of cognitive-behavioral group counseling on the experience of becoming a mother among adolescent mothers in marginalized areas of Urmia through a randomized controlled trial.\n\nMethods: This cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted between September and December 2024 in Urmia, Iran. Health centers were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups using a computer-generated random sequence. Eighty-eight adolescent mothers were recruited via census sampling. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to screen and exclude mothers with depressive symptoms before randomization. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group receiving seven weekly cognitive-behavioral group counseling sessions or to a control group receiving routine care. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Being a Mother Scale (BaM-13). Statistical analyses included chi-square, independent t-tests, and repeated measures ANOVA using SPSS 20.\n\nResults: The intervention group showed significant improvement in the experience of becoming a mother, with mean BaM-13 scores decreasing from 36.54 ± 2.20 at baseline to 15.30 ± 2.50 at three months post-intervention. The control group's scores remained stable. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant effects of time (p < 0.001) and a time-by-group interaction (p < 0.001), confirming improvements were exclusive to the intervention group.\n\nConclusion: Cognitive-behavioral group counseling effectively enhances adolescent mothers’ experience of becoming a mother by fostering emotional closeness, positive child experiences, and personal growth. This intervention may benefit maternal health in marginalized populations.\n\nTrial registration: IRCT20250126064520N1, The date of registration: 2–19-2025. Ethical approval code: IR.UMSU.REC.1403.134 Date: 4.8.2024.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-026-09776-w.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Consultation On Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran",
    "Reproductive Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran",
    "Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Razi Hospital, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Pardis Nazlou, 11 Km of Nazlou Road, Urmia, 57561-15335 Iran"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sevda Dehghan Saei"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fatemeh Moghaddam-Tabrizi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mahmonir Haghighi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/757pfka966nz1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12884-026-09776-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13737805/",
  "id": "757pfka966nz1",
  "issns": [
    "1471-2393"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-026-09776-w",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7202025424",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13737805",
  "pmid": "42983311",
  "published": "2026-08-10",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/757pfka966nz1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:22:55Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13737805",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-026-09776-w"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "From fear to bonding: a randomized controlled trial of CBT-based group counseling on the experience of becoming a mother in marginalized adolescent mothers",
  "title_text": "From fear to bonding: a randomized controlled trial of CBT-based group counseling on the experience of becoming a mother in marginalized adolescent mothers",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:22:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/757pfka966nz1",
  "venue": "BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth",
  "versions": []
}