Effect of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program on stress, anxiety, and childbirth fear in pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19

Author: Esra Güney1, Sıdıka Özlem Cengizhan2, Esra Karataş Okyay3, Zeynep Bal4, Tuba Uçar5
Affiliation:
1 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey. Electronic address: esra.guney@inonu.edu.tr.
2 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gaziantep Islam Science and University, Gaziantep, Turkey. Electronic address: sidika_cengizhan@hotmail.com.
3 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. Electronic address: esra.okyay@inonu.edu.tr.
4 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey. Electronic address: zeynepp_ball@hotmail.com.
5 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey. Electronic address: tuba.ucar@inonu.edu.tr.
Conference/Journal: Complement Ther Clin Pract
Date published: 2022 Feb 23
Other: Volume ID: 47 , Pages: 101566 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101566. , Word Count: 214


Objective:
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a live online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program in preventing distress, anxiety and childbirth fear in pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19.

Material and methods:
Designed as a randomized-controlled trial, this study was performed with the participation of pregnant women who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The sample comprised 84 pregnant women, including 42 in the experimental group and 42 in the control group. The online MBSR program composed of eight sessions and lasting four weeks was provided to the pregnant women in the experimental group, whereas such an initiative was not provided to the control group. The data were collected via the Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (NuPDQ), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire (CAQ).

Results:
After the MBSR program, the mean NuPDQ, BAI and CAQ scores of the pregnant women in the experimental group were significantly lower than the mean scores of those in the control group (p < 0.001).

Conclusion:
The online MBSR program may be utilized to reduce the distress, anxiety and childbirth fear levels of pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19. By using the MBSR program, health professionals might improve the psychological well-being of pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Mindfulness; Perinatal mental health; Pregnancy; Prenatal mood.

PMID: 35219222 PMCID: PMC8863420 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101566

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