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The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 5, p e0155720 (2016), PLoS ONE
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2016.
-
Abstract
- Perinatal mental health difficulties are associated with adverse consequences for parents and infants. However, the potential risks associated with the use of psychotropic medication for pregnant and breastfeeding women and the preferences expressed by women for non-pharmacological interventions mean it is important to ensure that effective psychological interventions are available. It has been argued that mindfulness-based interventions may offer a novel approach to treating perinatal mental health difficulties, but relatively little is known about their effectiveness with perinatal populations. This paper therefore presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for reducing depression, anxiety and stress and improving mindfulness skills in the perinatal period. A systematic review identified seventeen studies of mindfulness-based interventions in the perinatal period, including both controlled trials (n = 9) and pre-post uncontrolled studies (n = 8). Eight of these studies also included qualitative data. Hedge’s g was used to assess uncontrolled and controlled effect sizes in separate meta-analyses, and a narrative synthesis of qualitative data was produced. Pre- to post-analyses showed significant reductions in depression, anxiety and stress and significant increases in mindfulness skills post intervention, each with small to medium effect sizes. Completion of the mindfulness-based interventions was reasonable with around three quarters of participants meeting study-defined criteria for engagement or completion where this was recorded. Qualitative data suggested that participants viewed mindfulness interventions positively. However, between-group analyses failed to find any significant post-intervention benefits for depression, anxiety or stress of mindfulness-based interventions in comparison to control conditions: effect sizes were negligible and it was conspicuous that intervention group participants did not appear to improve significantly more than controls in their mindfulness skills. The interventions offered often deviated from traditional mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes, and there was also a tendency for studies to focus on healthy rather than clinical populations, and on antenatal rather than postnatal populations. It is argued that these and other limitations with the included studies and their interventions may have been partly responsible for the lack of significant between-group effects. The implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.
- Subjects :
- 050103 clinical psychology
Mindfulness
medicine.medical_treatment
Maternal Health
Emotions
Psychological intervention
Social Sciences
lcsh:Medicine
Anxiety
Families
0302 clinical medicine
Mathematical and Statistical Techniques
Pregnancy
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Medicine and Health Sciences
Psychology
030212 general & internal medicine
lcsh:Science
Children
Multidisciplinary
Depression
05 social sciences
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Qualitative Studies
Perinatal Care
Research Design
Meta-analysis
Physical Sciences
Female
medicine.symptom
Infants
Statistics (Mathematics)
Research Article
medicine.medical_specialty
Psychological Stress
Research and Analysis Methods
03 medical and health sciences
Early Medical Intervention
Mental Health and Psychiatry
medicine
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Statistical Methods
Psychiatry
business.industry
Mood Disorders
lcsh:R
Biology and Life Sciences
Publication bias
Mental health
Health Surveys
Age Groups
People and Places
Cognitive therapy
Women's Health
Population Groupings
lcsh:Q
business
Publication Bias
Mathematics
Stress, Psychological
Qualitative research
Meta-Analysis
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....ca58d6ac10733433f2daeddd6080e49a