Skip to content

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on anxiety of pregnant women during the covid-19 outbreak in tehran, iran

Fatima Ibrahim, Maryam Muhammad Ibrahim, Somayeh Jamalivand

THE NEW ARMENIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL 2025 DOI: 10.56936/18290825-2.v19.2025-18 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled clinical trial Peer reviewed
Sample size 72
Population Pregnant women at risk of preterm labor presenting for prenatal care at gynecology clinics in Tehran, Iran
Intervention Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Duration Follow-up at 6 and 10 weeks after the intervention
Measures Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (17-item short form)
Topics Anxiety Meditation
Key findings Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was associated with significant changes over time in some anxiety indices (FB-PMHC, FCB, FCD-MR) among pregnant women, with differences between baseline and weeks 6 and 10 after the intervention, but no significant differences in FMC-CC and FC-MPL scores before and after the group educational counseling sessions. The authors report discrepancies between these results and their original research framework.

Abstract

Introduction. In the current study the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on anxiety of pregnant women during the coronavirus outbreak were evaluated. Materials and methods. A randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out among 72 pregnant women who presented at gynecology clinics in hospitals, Tehran, Iran, for prenatal care during January and April2019. The 17-item short form of Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire developed by Vanden Bergh was used to evaluate the prenatal anxiety of young Persian pregnant women at risk of preterm labor. The normality of the data was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Data analysis was performed using the analysis of variance procedure with the post hoc Bonferroni scorrection using SPSS 16.0 and the significance level was set at [P≤0.05]. The comparison of continuous and categorical variables between the two groups was conducted using the independent samples t-tests and Chi square or Fisher’s exact tests, respectively. Result and discussion. The results showed that the majority of participants, divided into intervention (83.3%) and control (91.7%) groups, were assessed as having sufficient economic status. The mean age of pregnancy among women at risk of coronavirus in groups of control and intervention was (26.13 ± 1.45) and (26.02 ± 1.42) years old, respectively. The gestational age of most subjects in intervention and control groups was at 27 week (22.2%) and 28 week (25.0%) respectively. Conclusion. This study presented a discrepancy with our research framework in terms of hospitalized subjects in the prenatal care unit as well as the number and content of educational sessions.The study revealed the lowest anxiety amounts in the intervened individuals at all the evaluation times were related to the FC-MPL criterion, while the FCB index caused the highest anxiety level among this group. There was no significant difference in FMC-CC and FC-MPL scores before and after implementing the group educational counseling sessions. However, a highly significant difference was found in FB-PMHC, FCB, and FCD-MR scores of the intervention groups over time. According to Bonferroni correction, this variance was observed between before the intervention and the 6th and 10th weeks after the intervention.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients 2000 Randomized controlled trial n = 145
Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety 2016 Randomized controlled trial n = 51
Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression 2016 Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial n = 29
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual... 2006 Double-blind study n = 36
Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Adults with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety 2010 Double-blind, placebo-controlled study n = 12

Explore topics