Abstract
ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to assess the effect of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) on anxiety and self‐efficacy in coping with childbirth.Material and MethodsThis randomized controlled trial was conducted on 70 pregnant women in Abyek city of Qazvin province in Iran. The convenient sampling method was recruited. Samples were assigned to control and intervention groups using random blocks. In addition to routine care, individuals in the intervention group received 6 MBSR training sessions. The data gathering questionnaire in this study included mindfulness, Pregnancy‐Related Anxiety Questionnaire, and self‐efficacy in coping with childbirth questionnaire.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference between the demographic characteristics in the control and intervention groups. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures indicated the effect of time on the change in the total score of anxiety in the intervention group (p = .001). There was a significant difference between the two groups (p = .001). Also, the results of ANOVA with repeated measures showed that time had no impact on the score of self‐efficacy in delivery coping (p = 0/1) and that there was no significant difference between the two groups in this respect (p = .6).ConclusionThe result of this study showed that mindfulness reduces anxiety of pregnant mothers, and it is suggested that mindfulness programs be educated for healthcare providers and pregnant mothers to reduce maternal anxiety and improve pregnancy outcomes and delivery.
Highlights
Mindfulness-based interventions in pregnancy have a positive effect on stress reduction, depression, and psychiatric disorders (Duncan & Bardacke, 2010)
The results of systematic review studies on the effect of mindfulness have shown a favorable trend of stress reduction but no significant differences have been shown between groups
Despite stress and anxiety risks for mother and fetus, limited stress reduction programs have been performed as a clinical trial during pregnancy, and only limited studies have focused on mind–body approach, advanced muscle relaxation, yoga, and meditation to reduce maternal stress to improve maternal health and pregnancy outcomes (Guardino, Dunkel Schetter, Bower, Lu, & Smalley, 2014)
Summary
Pregnancy and postpartum are associated with physical and mental changes and are the critical time for mothers to develop mental disorders (Forray, Focseneanu, Pittman, McDougle, & Epperson, 2010). Maternal stress during pregnancy causes preterm labor and low birthweight (Dunkel Schetter, 2011) It increases the negative effects on growth, development, cognition, and emotions during infancy and childhood (Polanska et al, 2017). Due to the scarcity of trial studies, more research is needed to investigate the effect of mindfulness on stress and anxiety during pregnancy (Dhillon, Sparkes, & Duarte, 2017). Despite stress and anxiety risks for mother and fetus, limited stress reduction programs have been performed as a clinical trial during pregnancy, and only limited studies have focused on mind–body approach, advanced muscle relaxation, yoga, and meditation to reduce maternal stress to improve maternal health and pregnancy outcomes (Guardino, Dunkel Schetter, Bower, Lu, & Smalley, 2014). The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of mindfulness based on stress reduction on the self-efficacy and stress of pregnant women
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