Effectiveness of discharge planning interventions on health-related outcomes among postpartum women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Postpartum women frequently experience psychological distress, physical morbidities, and sub-optimal maternal–neonatal care skills. Structured discharge planning may mitigate these problems, yet its overall effectiveness and the active ingredients underpinning benefit remain unclear. Objective To synthesis randomized and quasi-experimental evidence on the effectiveness of discharge planning interventions for improving postpartum women’s health outcomes and to identify intervention characteristics that modify this effectiveness. Methods Nine electronic databases (including PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, and SinoMed) were searched from inception to 10 May 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies evaluating discharge planning interventions aimed at postpartum women were eligible. Two reviewers independently screened records, assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 and ROBINS-I tools, and extracted data. The odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was used as the primary statistical measure. For continuous variables, the standardized mean difference (SMD) was used. Statistical heterogeneity was quantified using the I 2 statistic. Results Twenty-one studies (13 RCTs and 8 quasi-experimental studies) involving 33,096 participants from nine countries were included. Discharge planning produced moderate-to-large improvements in: mental health – depressive symptoms (SMD = −0.64; 95% CI: −1.27, −0.01) and anxiety (SMD = −1.29; 95% CI: −2.22, −0.37); self-care and neonatal-care competence (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.20, 4.58); and breastfeeding self-efficacy (SMD = 2.86; 95% CI: 1.63, 4.08). Interventions integrating predischarge education, post-discharge telephone follow-up, and information-based communication platforms tended to demonstrate larger effect sizes. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that structured discharge planning programs implemented in hospital-based maternity wards during the early postpartum period can improve maternal mental health, self-care capacity, and maternal–neonatal outcomes. The evidence, derived from both randomized controlled trials and pragmatic quasi-experimental studies conducted in routine clinical settings, suggests that ward- or institution-level discharge interventions are effective and scalable strategies for optimizing postnatal transitions. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251055810 , registered 20/05/2025.