Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a guided imagery (GI) intervention for stress reduction in pregnant African American women beginning early in the second trimester. This prospective longitudinal study of 72 women used a randomized controlled experimental design with two groups conducted over 12 weeks. The intervention was a CD with 4 professionally recorded tracts designed and sequenced to influence study variables. Participants in both GI and usual care (UC) completed measures and donated 5 cc of blood at baseline, 8 weeks and 12 weeks. Participants also completed a daily stress scale. A mixed-effects linear model tested for differences between groups for self-reported measures of stress, anxiety, and fatigue as well as corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), a biologic marker of stress. Significant differences in perceived stress daily scores and at week 8 but not week 12 were found in the GI group compared to UC group. The GI group reported significantly less fatigue and anxiety than the UC group at week 8 but not week 12. There were no significant differences in CRH levels between groups. Results suggest that GI intervention may be effective in reducing perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue measures among pregnant African American women.
Highlights
Maternal stress has been associated with pregnancy complications such as hypertension and preeclampsia as well as negative perinatal outcomes such as intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR), low birth weight (LBW) infants, preterm birth (PTB), and neuropsychological developmental delays of affected offspring [1,2,3]
This study investigated the effects of a guided imagery (GI) intervention on maternal stress and associated symptoms of anxiety and fatigue in pregnant African American women beginning in the second trimester
The findings demonstrated significant effects of the GI intervention on perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue
Summary
Maternal stress has been associated with pregnancy complications such as hypertension and preeclampsia as well as negative perinatal outcomes such as intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR), low birth weight (LBW) infants, preterm birth (PTB), and neuropsychological developmental delays of affected offspring [1,2,3]. Perceived stress is often associated with symptoms such as anxiety and fatigue [2, 3] and these related symptoms may increase the deleterious effect of stress on health and birth outcomes. Of equal importance is the major disparity in rates of stress and pregnancy complications between African American women and Caucasian or Hispanic women [12]. Research has demonstrated that AA women experience significantly more prenatal stress [13, 14] and it has been proposed that they have increased susceptibility to the negative effects of psychosocial stressors when compared to Hispanic or Caucasian women [12]. Despite the high prevalence and potential negative perinatal consequences, very few studies have focused on interventions to decrease prenatal stress and the related symptoms of anxiety and fatigue in pregnant African American women
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