Mindfulness training can reduce prenatal maternal stress

Abstract

Prenatal maternal stress is an important phenomenon. Evidence on this topic suggests that women who experience high stress during pregnancy are more likely to deliver preterm infants. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of mindfulness training on stress reduction during pregnancy. In the current study we included 23 women who participated in the mindfulness training during pregnancy. The control group included 23 women who were in the reading control condition during pregnancy. Women were eligible to participate if they were experiencing elevated levels of perceived stress or pregnancy-specific anxiety (PSA), as indicated by responses to the Perceived Stress Scale and the PSA scale on a screening questionnaire. Women enrolled between 12 and 26 weeks gestation were randomly assigned to either the mindfulness training or to the reading control condition. Effects of training were analyzed by means of an ANOVA with repeated measurements. ANOVA has revealed (p<.05) that women in the mindfulness intervention experienced larger decreases from pre- to postintervention in pregnancy-specific anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety than participants in the reading control condition. This pilot study suggests that mindfulness training during pregnancy may effectively reduce pregnancy-related anxiety. However, it is necessary to do further research on the impact of mindfulness training on stress reduction during pregnancy.