Preliminary evidence of psychological improvements and increased maternal-fetal attachment associated with a mindfulness sleep programme: secondary analysis of uncontrolled data in 11 pregnant women with insomnia disorder.

A mindfulness sleep program for pregnant women with insomnia, combining behavioral sleep strategies and meditation, led to large increases in everyday mindfulness and medium-large increases in maternal-fetal attachment. Participants also reported large reductions in anxiety, repetitive thinking, insomnia-focused rumination, and sleep-related daytime impairment. These preliminary results from a small trial of 11 women suggest that such a program may benefit multiple aspects of maternal wellbeing beyond sleep and depressed mood.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Treating insomnia during pregnancy improves sleep and depressed mood. However, given well-established links between poor sleep and a broad spectrum of adverse maternal outcomes, the benefits of insomnia care may reach beyond sleep and depression. The present study evaluated the preliminary efficacy of 'Perinatal Understanding of Mindful Awareness for Sleep' (PUMAS)-a mindfulness sleep programme tailored to pregnancy that combines behavioural sleep strategies and meditation-for enhancing everyday mindfulness and maternal-fetal attachment, as well as for alleviating anxiety, repetitive thinking, and sleep-related daytime impairment. We conducted a secondary analysis of a single-arm proof-of-concept trial of 11 pregnant women with fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnosed insomnia disorder who completed PUMAS (six sessions), which was delivered in an individual format via telemedicine video. Pre- and post-treatment outcomes included the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), Generalised Anxiety Disorder seven-item survey (GAD-7), Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), Daytime Insomnia Symptoms Response Scale (DISRS), and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep-Related Impairment Scale (PROMIS-SRI). Symptom changes were evaluated with paired-samples t tests. Results showed PUMAS patients reported large increases in CAMS-R (Cohen's dz = 1.81) and medium-large increases in MFAS scores (Cohen's dz = 0.73). Moreover, PUMAS patients reported large reductions in scores on the GAD-7 (Cohen's dz = 1.09), PTQ (Cohen's dz = 1.26), DISRS (Cohen's dz = 1.38), and PROMIS-SRI (Cohen's dz = 1.53). Preliminary evidence suggests that a mindfulness-based perinatal sleep programme may benefit several domains of maternal wellbeing beyond sleep and depression. PUMAS substantially enhanced patient ratings of everyday mindfulness and maternal-fetal attachment, while reporting alleviations in anxiety, perseverative thinking, insomnia-focused rumination, and sleep-related daytime impairment.