Quite a few women need support during pregnancy because they are tormented by pregnancy- and birth-related fears. To combat this, a Appdigital "mindfulness practice" was developed and trialled. The result of the StudyThe mental well-being of the pregnant women improved significantly thanks to the app support and also in the long term.
Study leader Prof Dr Stephanie Wallwiener, obstetrician and acting director of the University Clinic and Polyclinic for Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine at Halle University Hospital, and a research team had been looking for a low-threshold offer for expectant mothers with anxiety as a possible alternative to psychotherapy. This is how the digital mindfulness practice was created in the form of an app. This digital application combines classic mindfulness exercises with obstetric and psychotherapeutic approaches and is intended to provide medical information on childbirth, make it easier to deal with anxiety and depression and offer individualised coping exercises. It is taught using audio files, instructional videos, written materials, a personal skills box and interactive worksheets.
The app was then researched with women between the 29th and 36th week of pregnancy who were at increased risk of anxiety and depression. One group had access to the mindfulness-based app, while the control group without this access was treated as usual. The practical trial lasted eight weeks for 45 minutes each week under the supervision of the study team. All of the pregnant women involved provided regular information on the nature and extent of their anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and up to five months after the birth.
The analysis of the research data then showed a clearly positive effect of digital mindfulness practice: on general depressive symptoms or anxiety, the application had hardly any influence - but it can reduce the frequency and severity of Pregnancy- and birth-related fears and also of postpartum depression measurable reduction.
This is very good news for women who are expecting or have just given birth. The study shows that a digital intervention for anxiety during pregnancy can not only be a cost-effective, but also a low-threshold means of promoting the mental health of pregnant women, especially for women at risk. However, the head of the study believes that not only pregnant women with mental health problems, but also women with high-risk pregnancies, such as premature labour or other medical abnormalities, could benefit from this useful and easily accessible addition to existing recommendations in clinical practice. Prof Dr Stephanie Wallwiener is therefore calling for holistic prenatal care, in which both the physical and psychological aspects are equally taken into account as self-evident components.
That would also be desirable from my point of view. After all, impaired mental health during pregnancy can have a significant impact, such as increasing the risk of premature birth. And it can also disrupt the bond between mother and child after birth. Therefore, in view of the available study results, it would also be good if the app-supported mindfulness practice described could soon be made widely available to affected pregnant women as a supplement to current practice. I will let you know as soon as this is the case.
The study was carried out as part of the Mind:Pregnancy innovation fund project in Baden-Württemberg. Participating centres were the maternity wards of the university hospitals in Heidelberg and Tübingen as well as more than 200 gynaecological practices. The study was funded by the Innovation Committee of the Joint Federal Committee.
