Complementary therapies in pregnancy: a means to reduce ill health and improve well-being?

Newham, James

doi:10.1080/02646838.2014.924228

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…in relation to the regulation of food or sexuality. It is a focus likewise discernible in more spiritually oriented environments, as for example yoga or healing, where health-related benefits seem to be an important motivational factor for participating [ 52 , 53 ]. This last aspect of the focus on the biological body fits the data in this survey, where the main motivational cause of meditation among respondents was the urge to achieve good mental health (19 % reported this).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prayer and meditation among Danish first time mothers—a questionnaire study

Prinds

Hvidtjørn

Skytthe

et al. 2016

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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BackgroundMothers’ existential dimensions in the transition to motherhood have not been described thoroughly. They might experience disruption and new perspectives in existential ways and this may especially be the case in preterm birth. The aim of this study was twofold. First we investigated the existential dimension of motherhood transition in a secularized context, through practices of prayer and meditation. Second we described the relationship between time of birth (term/preterm) and the prayer/meditation practices of the mothers.MethodsData were gathered from a nationwide questionnaire survey among first time mothers conducted during the summer 2011. All Danish women who gave birth before the 32nd pregnancy week (n = 255), and double the number of mothers who gave birth at full term (n = 658) in 2010 were included (total n = 913). The questionnaire consisted of 46 overall items categorized in seven sections, which independently cover important aspects of existential meaning-making related to becoming a mother. The respondent rate was 57 % (n = 517).ResultsMoments of praying or meditation 6–18 months post partum were reported by 65 %, and mothers who responded affirmatively, practiced prayer (n = 286) more than meditation (n = 89), p < 0,001. We did not observe differences in affirmative responses to prayer or meditation between mothers of full term or preterm born children, not even after controlling for perinatal or post partum loss, mode of birth, age, status of cohabiting or education.ConclusionsIn this explorative study we found specific practices of existential meaning-making through prayer and/or meditation among first time mothers, living in a very secularized context. Yet we know only little about character or importance of these practices among mothers, and hardly anything about existential meaning-making among new fathers. Hence the implications of meaning-making practices related to other dimensions of health are difficult to address in a qualified way in care for new mothers and families.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prayer and meditation among Danish first time mothers—a questionnaire study

Prinds

Hvidtjørn

Skytthe

et al. 2016

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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“…CAM comprises a broad array of different treatments, ranging from herbal medicine to yoga. Many women are comfortable using CAM during pregnancy since these treatment options appear to be potentially useful for improving psychological health during pregnancy [ 19 , 20 ]. Most patients do believe that CAM treatments are safe and effective [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yoga for prenatal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2015

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BackgroundPrenatal depression can negatively affect the physical and mental health of both mother and fetus. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of yoga as an intervention in the management of prenatal depression.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted by searching PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and PsycINFO from all retrieved articles describing such trials up to July 2014.ResultsSix RCTs were identified in the systematic search. The sample consisted of 375 pregnant women, most of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. The diagnoses of depression were determined by their scores on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. When compared with comparison groups (e.g., standard prenatal care, standard antenatal exercises, social support, etc.), the level of depression statistically significantly reduced in yoga groups (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.94 to −0.25; p = 0.0007). One subgroup analysis revealed that both the levels of depressive symptoms in prenatally depressed women (SMD, −0.46; CI, −0.90 to −0.03; p = 0.04) and non-depressed women (SMD, −0.87; CI, −1.22 to −0.52; p < 0.00001) were statistically significantly lower in yoga group than that in control group. There were two kinds of yoga: the physical-exercise-based yoga and integrated yoga, which, besides physical exercises, included pranayama, meditation or deep relaxation. Therefore, the other subgroup analysis was conducted to estimate effects of the two kinds of yoga on prenatal depression. The results showed that the level of depression was significantly decreased in the integrated yoga group (SMD, −0.79; CI, −1.07 to −0.51; p < 0.00001) but not significantly reduced in physical-exercise-based yoga group (SMD, −0.41; CI, −1.01 to −0.18; p = 0.17).ConclusionsPrenatal yoga intervention in pregnant women may be effective in partly reducing depressive symptoms.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0393-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Difficulties for women and men that have been the focus of papers in the journal include experiencing infertility and childlessness, pregnancy loss, at-risk pregnancy, difficult labour and birth, prematurity, and poor mental health. Studies have also targeted interventions aimed at addressing such difficulties and problems, ranging from complementary therapies to caesarean section (Newham, 2014;Wijma, Ryding, & Wijma, 2002). Adversity may involve specific events, such as separation and divorce, bereavement or traumatic labour and birth or longer-term states or conditions such as disability or health problems like diabetes.…”

Section: Adversity and Reproduction: Shared Experiences And Individuamentioning

confidence: 99%