Mindfulness in Pregnancy: A Brief Intervention for Women at Risk

The U.S. has the highest rate of preterm birth (PTB), of all developed countries, especially among African American women. Social determinants of health and inequalities in health outcomes are understudied areas. The intersectionality of race and socioeconomic status has been shown to contribute to chronic stress, stress has been shown to be associated with PTB, yet the mechanisms that affect pregnancy outcomes have not been explicit. Mindfulness-based Interventions that address stress reduction during pregnancy may improve quality of life during pregnancy, perhaps enhancing resilience, and be on the pathway to reducing the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes such as PTB.

We over-enrolled African American women and those covered by Medicaid to reach women at higher risk for PTB and included women in substance use treatment. Participants were enrolled in a 6-week mindfulness in pregnancy (MIP) intervention at the obstetric clinic. Sociodemographic characteristics and psychosocial assessments were obtained at three time points.

We enrolled 35 women who self-identified as: non-white, Medicaid recipients, aged 25-35 years, with high school or less education. We found reductions in perceived stress, pregnancy specific stress, trait anxiety and depression and increases in mindfulness that sustained post-intervention at 2 and 7 months.

Social determinants and stress in particular have been associated with negative birth outcomes. This paper describes a brief intervention and results of MIP tailored to women who have significantly more stress due to race, poverty, homelessness, substance use treatment and other comorbid health risks including PTB.