Mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention in a sample of pregnant women in a rural area.

Abstract

In this study, nine pregnant women in a rural area were assessed for a range of affective and mood disorders, as well as for coping self-efficacy and use of mindfulness in daily life. A mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention was implemented using “Healing Rhythms”, a commercially available computer-based mindfulness software programme, which uses biofeedback to assist in teaching self-regulation and mindfulness-based approaches for reducing stress. The programme was supplied already loaded onto laptops which were lent to participants for the study. Most participants showed improvements on measures of Trait anxiety and coping self-efficacy, with two participants whose scores at baseline met clinical criteria for depression dropping significantly to a non-clinical score at the end of the programme. Participants were interviewed and most reported satisfaction with using the programme, and a belief that it could be useful for other pregnant women especially where women felt challenged by stressors during pregnancy. The aim of the study was to identify whether a computer-based mindfulness programme for stress reduction would have utility and efficacy in a rural population. The results suggest that there were measureable gains for most participants, and that such a programme could be a supportive and helpful option for rural women who wish to learn how to better manage perinatal stress.