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Effectiveness of Digital Guided Self-help Mindfulness Training During Pregnancy on Maternal Psychological Distress and Infant Neuropsychological Development: Randomized Controlled Trial

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Background Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with unfavorable outcomes in infants. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can effectively alleviate psychological distress, but there are often barriers to the access of… Click to show full abstract

Background Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with unfavorable outcomes in infants. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can effectively alleviate psychological distress, but there are often barriers to the access of face-to-face interventions. Objective This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a digital guided self-help (GSH) MBI (GSH-MBI) in reducing maternal psychological distress and improving infant neuropsychological performance. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial. We recruited 160 women who were 12 to 20 weeks pregnant and exhibited psychological distress. We randomized them into a digital GSH-MBI group and a control group (usual perinatal care). The digital GSH-MBI consisted of a 6-week intervention through a WeChat mini program, with a daily reminder sent to the participants by a research assistant via WeChat. The primary outcomes consisted of maternal psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms, which were assessed at 6 time points from baseline to 6 months post partum (only pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms were assessed 3 times during pregnancy). The secondary outcomes were infant neuropsychological outcomes, including temperament and developmental behaviors, which were assessed at 6 weeks and 6 months post partum. Results Compared with the control group, the digital GSH-MBI group showed a significant reduction in depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms. In addition, the scores of the digital GSH-MBI group were lower than those of the control group for the 3 types of infant temperament at 6 weeks post partum, including quality of mood, distractibility, and adaptability. Conclusions Digital GSH-MBIs are effective in alleviating psychological distress among pregnant women and protecting infant outcomes. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Register ChiCTR2000040717; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=65376

Keywords: distress; gsh mbi; psychological distress; maternal psychological; pregnancy

Journal Title: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Year Published: 2022

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