Effects of prenatal mindfulness-based childbirth education on child-bearers’ trajectories of distress: a randomized control trial

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Marissa D. Sbrilli¹  Heidemarie K. Laurent¹  Larissa G. Duncan² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Psychology Building, 603 E Daniel St, 61820, Champaign, IL, USA;School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA;Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA;Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, USA;

关键词: Mindfulness;    Childbirth;    Postpartum depression;    Distress;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-020-03318-8

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe perinatal period is a time of immense change, which can be a period of stress and vulnerability for mental health difficulties. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise for reducing distress, but further research is needed to identify long-term effects and moderators of mindfulness training in the perinatal period.MethodsThe current study used data from a pilot randomized control trial (RCT) comparing a condensed mindfulness-based childbirth preparation program—the Mind in Labor (MIL)—to treatment as usual (TAU) to examine whether prenatal mindfulness training results in lower distress across the perinatal period, and whether the degree of benefit depends on child-bearers’ initial levels of risk (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms) and protective (i.e., mindfulness) characteristics. Child-bearers (N = 30) in their third trimester were randomized to MIL or TAU and completed assessments of distress—perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms—at pre-intervention, post-intervention, six-weeks post-birth, and one-year postpartum.ResultsMultilevel modeling of distress trajectories revealed greater decreases from pre-intervention to 12-months postpartum for those in MIL compared to TAU, especially among child-bearers who were higher in anxiety and/or lower in dispositional mindfulness at baseline.ConclusionsThe current study offers preliminary evidence for durable perinatal mental health benefits following a brief mindfulness-based program and suggests further investigation of these effects in larger samples is warranted.Trial registrationThe ClinicalTrials.gov identifier for the study is: NCT02327559. The study was retrospectively registered on June 23, 2014.

【 授权许可】

CC BY