Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Psychological Distress in Pregnancy

September 13, 2018 updated by: Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, University of Calgary

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Psychological Distress in Pregnancy

Anxiety, stress and depression are common during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. The lack of empirically supported, non-pharmaceutical interventions for psychological distress in pregnancy is a significant gap in the literature, especially given many pregnant women's preference for non-pharmaceutical treatments. This study will evaluate the efficacy of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program in reducing measures of psychological distress (e.g., symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety) in a group of pregnant women endorsing high levels of distress.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
61

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Alberta
      • Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4
        • University Of Calgary
      • Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1B9
        • Riley Park Maternity Clinic

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligible women for this study

  • are between 12 and 28 weeks of gestation,
  • are experiencing psychological distress (elevated perinatal anxiety, mild depressive symptoms, or high-levels of self-reported stress)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current suicidality
  • current substance abuse or dependence
  • experience a current major depressive episode
  • have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or other disorders that have a psychotic, dissociative, hallucinatory, or delusional component
  • taking prescribed medications that affect sleep or mood

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: MBCT + Treatment as Usual (TAU)

Behavioural: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy

Participants in the MBCT group attend an 8 week course of a modified MBCT program for pregnant women, delivered by a licensed clinical psychologist.
Behavioral: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
The modified MBCT program for pregnant women is an 8-session group intervention that aims to help women change their relationship to the thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that can lead to psychological distress. Participants are guided to recognize and disengage from unhelpful mind states characterized by self-perpetuating patterns of ruminative thought. The intervention was modified to address pregnant women's physical and emotional needs, as well as their risk of perinatal mood episodes.
Other Names:
  • MBCT
No Intervention: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Participants in the TAU group access community resources for pregnant women experiencing psychological distress.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores from baseline to 3 months follow-up postpartum
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum (3 months after the birth of a person's baby)
Symptoms of depression will be assessed using the 10-item, self-report Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). The EPDS has been validated against interview schedules and other self-report instruments.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum (3 months after the birth of a person's baby)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Pregnancy Related Anxiety Measure scores from baseline to post-treatment
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10)
The Pregnancy Anxiety Measure, a 10-item instrument will be used to examine the extent to which women are worried about their own and baby's health, labour, delivery and caring their new baby.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10)
Change in Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) scores from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
This questionnaire will be used in assessing the perception of stress. The questions are in regards to participant's feelings and thoughts during the previous month. It was designed to be used in community samples. The items are assessing perceived helplessness and self-efficacy.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
The PSQI instrument will be used in assessing participant's sleep quality. There are seven components of the PSQI and these are subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications and daytime dysfunction.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Change in objective measures of sleep using Wrist Actigraphy from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Actigraphy monitoring provides objective information on circadian rhythm amplitude, acrophase, as well as indices of sleep efficiency, sleep latency, total sleep time, and number and frequency of awakenings. The use of actigraphy has been demonstrated sensitive to treatment effects, while being less costly and intrusive than polysomnography.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Change in salivary cortisol profile from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
All samples are assayed for salivary cortisol using a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Change in measures of blood pressure (BP) from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
BP data will be collected using an automatic, calibrated, oscillometric BP monitor and a BP cuff on the upper part of the dominant arm.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Changes in measures of heart rate variability from baseline to 3 months
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum
Measures of heart rate (bpm) will be recorded noninvasively using a HIC-2000 Bio-electric Impedance Cardiograph and the Cardiac Output Program, developed by Bio-Impedance Technology.
Baseline (Week 1), Post-Treatment (Week 10), 3 months follow-up postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Calgary

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research
Alberta Family Wellness Initiative

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 7, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 8, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 12, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 14, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 13, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • REB13-0860

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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