A mindfulness intervention to reduce maternal distress in neonatal intensive care: a mixed methods pilot study

Jun 7, 2018Archives of women's mental health

Using Mindfulness to Reduce Stress in Mothers with Babies in Intensive Care: A Pilot Study

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Twenty-four mothers (89%) completed a mindfulness intervention study in the NICU, showing significant improvements in mental health symptoms.

Participants reported significant reductions in depressive, anxiety, and trauma symptoms after the intervention.
Improvements were also noted in coping strategies and sleep quality.
Qualitative feedback highlighted perceived enhancements in psychological distress management and self-care.
The mindfulness program was found to be feasible and acceptable to the participants.
Video and audio formats may support the program's sustainability and potential for wider implementation.

AI simplified

Mothers with an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at risk for depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms, with negative implications for maternal-infant bonding, maternal well-being, and infant development. Few interventions to promote NICU mothers' mental health, however, have been developed or tested. This pre-post pilot study assessed feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a mindfulness intervention for NICU mothers. Twenty-seven mothers were recruited from a university NICU and offered a mindfulness intervention via introductory video and audio-recorded practices. Participants completed a baseline self-report survey. After 2 weeks of engaging with intervention materials, participants completed a second survey and in-depth interview. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t tests; qualitative data were analyzed using thematic coding. Twenty-four women (89%) completed the study. Quantitative data indicated significant improvements in depressive, anxiety, and trauma symptoms, negative coping, NICU-related stress, and sleep (p < 0.05). Qualitative data identified themes of perceived improvements in psychological distress and stress symptoms, self-care, and relationships. Findings support the mindfulness intervention's feasibility, acceptability, and potential promise for reducing maternal distress and promoting well-being. Use of video and audio modalities may facilitate program sustainability and scale up. Further research on the program is merited.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (HTML) ↗View full text (PDF) ↗

A mindfulness intervention to reduce maternal distress in neonatal intensive care: a mixed methods pilot study

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief