Prenatal stress self-help mindfulness intervention via social media: a randomized controlled trial

Background Prenatal stress is a pressing issue. However, there is a lack of robust evidence for psychosocial interventions to manage this problem. Aims This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention on reducing prenatal stress compared to participation in health education groups. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted in a prenatal clinic of comprehensive tertiary care from April to October 2017. A total of 108 pregnant women were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group. Participants completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, fatigue, positive and negative affect, and mindfulness before, immediately after, and 15 weeks after the 4-week intervention period. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the intervention outcomes. Results The results supported greater improvement in terms of perceived stress (Wald chi(2)=26.94, p<0.001), fatigue (Wald chi(2)=17.61, p<0.001), positive affect (Wald chi(2)=9.03, p = 0.011), negative affect (Wald chi(2)=11.37, p = 0.003), and mindfulness (Wald chi(2)=24.97, p<0.001) in the intervention group than in the control group. Conclusions The self-help mindfulness intervention decreased prenatal stress and negative affect and improved positive affect and mindfulness.