Effects of a Prenatal Mindfulness Program on Longitudinal Changes in Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Mother-infant Bonding of Women with a Tendency to Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2023 Jul 31

PMID 37525110

Authors

Wan-Lin Pan

Li-Chiu Lin

Li-Yen Kuo

Mu-Jung Chiu

Pei-Ying Ling

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Stress is a risk factor for poor physical and mental health, affecting new mothers' ability, especially those with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, to maintain their everyday lives. Over the past 50 years, global incidences of depression and anxiety disorders have increased, reaching pandemic levels. These incidences represent major public health issues that are challenging to detect and treat. Mindfulness programs are viable for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The present study evaluates mindfulness intervention effects on stress, anxiety, depression, and mother-infant bonding.

Methods: We collected data on 102 women participating in a prenatal mindfulness program between July 2021 and March 2022; they were parallel and randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. The intervention group received an 8-week course in a prenatal mindfulness program, and the control group received usual standard prenatal care. The self-reported stress, pregnancy-related anxiety, and depression were assessed before and after the intervention and at 36 weeks of gestation. At 2 and 4 months postpartum, all participants provided self-reported their levels of stress, depression, and quality of mother-infant bonding.

Results: Compared to the control group, the experimental group that received the prenatal mindfulness intervention experienced reduced prenatal stress, anxiety, and depression and reduced postnatal stress and depression. Despite this, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the quality of mother-infant bonding.

Conclusions: Mindfulness prenatal programs are convenient and effective methods of decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression during the perinatal period. Based on our findings, prenatal mindfulness may play a role in mitigating mood and anxiety disorders and should be considered in future approaches to preventing psychological distress.

Trial Registration Number: This trial has been prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04693130) and the first registration date was 12/24/2020.

Citing Articles

A longitudinal network analysis of interaction factors among Chinese women at high risk for perinatal depression.

Huang J, Lin Y, Fu Y, Xu Z, Hong H, Arbing R Midwifery. 2024; 139:104187.

PMID: 39321619 PMC: 11564043. DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2024.104187.

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