Mental Health and Meditation Practices of Pregnant Women during COVID-19
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational survey with propensity score matching |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6,157 |
| Population | Pregnant and non-pregnant women who subscribe to a meditation mobile app |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Pregnant women reported more worry about COVID-19 and more precautionary measures than non-pregnant women, but less severe depression and PTSD symptoms. Meditation amount and frequency declined during the pandemic overall, while pregnant women showed weaker pre-pandemic habits but larger increases in habit strength. The authors suggest stronger meditation habits may protect mental health during COVID-19. |
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this paper was to describe pregnant women’s COVID-19 perceptions, mental health and meditation habits compared to non-pregnant women in a sample of meditation mobile app subscribers.
Methods: Women completed the “COVID-19 Health and Well-being Survey” which assessed perceptions of COVID-19 (i.e., worry, attention to news, stress from social distancing), perceived stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, and meditation habits. Propensity scores were used to match the five most similar non-pregnant women to each pregnant woman based on racial minority status, ethnicity, age, household income, education, and residence in a state with a high COVID outbreak rate. Perceptions of COVID-19, mental health, and meditation habits were compared using t-tests and chi-square tests.
Results: Of the 6,157 respondents, 50 were pregnant. The sample was mostly White (88.89%) with a mean age of 37.69 (SD=11.20). Pregnant women were more worried about getting COVID-19 than non-pregnant women and felt that they were taking more precautionary measures to prevent infection. Compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women had less severe symptoms of depression and PTSD. The amount/frequency of meditation declined during the pandemic (t=2.31, p=.02). Pregnant women reported weaker pre-COVID-19 meditation habits, but larger increases in strength of meditation habits during the pandemic.
Discussion: The strength of mediation habits may play a role in pregnant women’s mental health during COVID-19. Stronger meditation habits may prevent increases in stress despite increased worry related to getting infected by COVID-19 and may reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |