Effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on depression in pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Summary

Mindfulness-based interventions significantly reduce depression in pregnant women, with a moderate effect size of 0.457 across 19 studies involving 1,480 participants. Among these, 717 engaged in mindfulness practices while 763 served as controls. Notably, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was particularly effective, achieving an effect size of 1.13, compared to 0.64 for mindfulness-based stress reduction and 0.31 for adapted interventions. These findings suggest that incorporating mindfulness techniques could be a valuable strategy for clinicians aiming to improve mental health outcomes during pregnancy.

Abstract

We synthesized the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on depression in pregnant women. Ten electronic databases were searched from inception to September 2022. We reviewed studies on outcomes for pregnant women with depression receiving mindfulness-based interventions. We only reviewed studies written in English. A random-effects model was used to compute the effect size. Funnel plot, Q statistics, and I2 were used to test the heterogeneity across studies. We examined moderators to explore sources of heterogeneity. Across 19 included studies (N = 1480), 717 pregnant women participated in mindfulness interventions; 763 served as controls. Mean age ranged from 25.3 to 33.6 years. Overall, mindfulness-based interventions showed reduced depression compared to control groups (g = 0.457, 95%CI 0.254, 0.659, I2 = 68 %). With subgroup analysis, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy had a greater effect on reducing depressive symptoms (g = 1.13) than mindfulness-based stress reduction (g = 0.64) and adapted mindfulness-based interventions (g = 0.31). No quality indicators moderated the ES of mindfulness-based interventions on depression. Mindfulness-based interventions significantly improved depression among pregnant women, especially mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Clinicians and health providers should consider using MBIs as alternative complementary treatment for improving and preventing depression in pregnant women.

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