High-risk pregnant women with physical or obstetric complications may develop depression and anxiety disorders that may worsen depending on the consequences of treatment and management during pregnancy. Therefore, their psychological well-being requires particular attention under these conditions. Consideration of specific and effective interventions for depression and anxiety would help improve the psychological outcomes of these women. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy-based interventions for depression and anxiety in high-risk pregnant women.

This systematic review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness. The searches will be conducted in English in the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Additionally, the Ichushi Web will be searched in English and Japanese. Sources of unpublished studies will be searched using ClinicalTrials.gov and the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry. Grey literature will be searched using DANS Data Stations. The JBI guidelines will be used for screening studies, study selection, critical appraisal, data extraction and integration. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach will be used to evaluate the certainty of the findings by two independent reviewers. If possible, statistical meta-analyses will be pooled. Additionally, the statistical heterogeneity will be assessed. Subgroup analysis will be performed according to participant and intervention characteristics. Funnel plots, Egger, Begg and Harbord tests will be used to detect publication bias, if necessary.

This systematic review does not require an ethics approval, as the data will be evaluated from previously published studies. The findings will be disseminated through publication in an international peer-reviewed journal and presented at research conferences.

CRD42024522468.