Mindfulness in High Risk Pregnancies

Anxiety, depression and stress are common during pregnancy. These have been found to negatively impact mother and child outcomes. When anxiety, depression, and stress are present in pregnant women, it is therefore important to manage them to improve the outcome of the mother and her child.

Although pregnancy itself has been shown to increase anxiety, depression and stress, these issues are further elevated in high-risk pregnancy groups. Mothers at risk of preterm delivery (less than 37 weeks gestational age), have been found to have higher rates of depression, anxiety and stress compared to uncomplicated term pregnancies. In addition, anxiety, depression and stress symptoms themselves increase the risk for preterm delivery, creating a vicious cycle for this high-risk group.

Mindfulness is a tool that has been during pregnancy to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress. Many studies have found mindfulness to be an appropriate management option in normal term pregnancies.

To date, there have been no studies that have looked at Mindfulness as a tool for mothers admitted due to risk of preterm delivery. This study will explore the impact of teaching mindfulness skills to inpatient mothers at risk of preterm delivery and studying its effects on maternal depression, anxiety, and stress.

This study involves providing Mindfulness strategies during the mother's inpatient admission for the risk of preterm delivery for four consecutive weeks. Participants will be enrolled through informed consent. All participants will be given pre and post participation questionnaires to examine the impact of mindfulness on anxiety, depression and stress. The participants will also be encouraged to maintain a weekly mindfulness log. The results of this research may lead to future studies looking at the impact of mindfulness practice for high-risk pregnancies. This will also help open up the possibility of offering such courses for inpatient and outpatient high-risk pregnancies in the future.