Mindfulness Yoga during Pregnancy for Psychiatrically At-Risk Women: Preliminary Results from a Pilot Feasibility Study

摘要

Prenatal psychopathology may have an adverse impact on mother and baby, but few women receive treatment. We offered a 10-week mindfulness yoga (M-Yoga) intervention to psychiatrically high-risk pregnant women as alternative to pharmacological treatment. Participants (N=18) were primiparous, 12–26 weeks pregnant, and scored positive (>9) on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screen at baseline. In addition to a baseline diagnostic assessment, women completed self-ratings on depression, mindfulness, and maternal-fetal attachment before and after M-Yoga. Findings suggest that M-Yoga was feasible, accepted and effective. Symptoms of depression were significantly reduced (p=.025), while mindfulness (p=.007) and maternal-fetal attachment (p=.000) significantly increased. Overall, this pilot study is the first to demonstrate that M-Yoga may be an effective treatment alternative or augmentation to pharmacotherapy for pregnant women at high risk for psychopathology.