Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 7-12% of the population and has damaging consequences. This trial tested a holistic yoga program (HYP) against a wellness lifestyle program (WLP). Participants (N ϭ 209) were randomized to HYP or WLP and completed two gold standard measures of PTSD symptom severity before and after programs. PTSD symptoms significantly improved for both groups, with a significant advantage for those in HYP. Although significant differences between groups were not maintained at 7-month follow up, improvement in symptom severity was still detected for both groups. This suggests that yoga is beneficial to people with PTSD as an adjunct to treatment.

Coping strategies may help explain why some minority women experience more stress and poorer birth outcomes, so a psychometrically sound instrument to assess coping is needed. We examined the psychometric properties, readability, and correlates of coping in pregnant Black (n = 186) and Hispanic (n = 220) women using the Brief COPE. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis tested psychometric properties. The Flesch–Kincaid Reading Level test assessed readability. Linear regression models tested correlates of coping. Findings suggested two factors for the questionnaire: active and disengaged coping, as well as adequate reliability, validity, and readability level. For disengaged coping, Cronbach’s α was .78 (English) and .70 (Spanish), and for active coping .86 (English) and .92 (Spanish). A two group confirmatory factor analysis revealed both minority groups had equivalent factor loadings. The reading level was at the sixth grade. Age, education, and gravidity were all found to be significant correlates with active coping.

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Since the inception of prenatal care in the early 1900s, the focus of care has been on risk reduction rather than on health promotion. Prenatal care began as individualized care, but more recently group prenatal care has been documented to be very successful in improving birth outcomes. For all women, an emphasis on improving health behaviors is important at this critical time while women are engaging regularly with the health care system. An emphasis on mental health promotion may decrease some of the disparities in birth outcomes that are well documented between minority and majority women, as minority women are known to experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Providing support for pregnant women and incorporating knowledge and skills through prenatal care may promote both physical and mental health in minority women.