New Mothers Alpha-Stim

Effects of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation on Psychological Distress and Maternal Functioning in New Mothers During the Postpartum Period

The birth of a child is a major life event that can be filled with excitement, anticipation and joy. However, the transition and adaptation to new demands, roles, responsibilities, and changes in relationships can be stressful, especially for new mothers. In addition, new mothers typically encounter physiological changes and struggle with concerns about weight gain, body image, sexuality, and other physical difficulties such as fatigue. These problems may generate or exacerbate stress, lead to an actual or perceived crisis and psychological distress.

Psychological distress, defined as anxiety, depression, and insomnia, in this study, often increases during the postpartum period and can negatively affect maternal mental health status, maternal and family relationships, and infant-child health. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) on anxiety, insomnia, depression, and maternal functioning in first time new mothers following childbirth.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Depression; Insomnia; Anxiety; Sleep Quality
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Alpha-Stim AID CES (Active Comparator); Device: Alpha-Stim AID CES (Sham Comparator)

Detailed Description

The birth of a child is a major life event that can be filled with excitement, anticipation and joy. However, the transition and adaptation to new demands, roles, responsibilities, and changes in relationships can be stressful, especially for first-time mothers. In addition, new mothers typically encounter physiological changes and struggle with concerns about weight gain, body image, sexuality, and other physical difficulties such as fatigue. These problems may generate or exacerbate stress, lead to an actual or perceived crisis and psychological distress.

Psychological distress, defined as depression, anxiety and insomnia, in this study, often increases during the postpartum period and can negatively affect maternal mental health status, maternal and family functioning, and infant-child outcomes. These conditions commonly present as co-morbidities, but are often unrecognized in clinical practice or under-treated as co-morbidities in new mothers. This unrecognized cluster of co-morbidities may lead to psychological distress and subsequently poor outcomes for mothers, their infants and children.

Current treatment recommendations for depression, anxiety and insomnia are primarily pharmaceutical or psychotherapy, both of which have limitations related to cost, time involved and ineffectiveness for some women. Consequently, there is a need to examine other treatment approaches including complementary modalities, such as cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES), particularly in light of current evidence that shows the efficacy of early detection, intervention and treatment for pregnant and postpartum women.

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effect of CES on anxiety in new mothers following childbirth. The secondary objectives are to: (1) determine the effects of CES on depression and insomnia; (2) explore the effect of CES on maternal functioning in new mothers following childbirth, and (3) to examine if items 1 & 2 on the 14 item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A14) perform well as a screening test for anxiety. Please see the enclosed Instrument Description document for detailed information related to this scale.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78758
      • Primay care; OB-GYN Clinic
    • Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, 78412
      • Primary care; OB-GYN Clinic

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participant must have a total score of ≥ 16 on the HAM-A14 and ≥2 on both Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A14) item 1 (anxious mood) and item 2 (tension) at screening and baseline to be considered for inclusion into the study.
2. Participant is a primiparous new mother, 18-45 years inclusive, who had an uncomplicated vaginal or cesarean birth, gave birth to a healthy baby and both mother and baby are healthy at enrollment and randomization in the study.
3. Sexually active female participants of childbearing potential must be self-report practicing, at least, one or more the following methods of contraception during the study: intrauterine device (IUD), barrier method in combination with a spermicide, oral/hormonal contraception or abstinence. Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test before receiving study treatment.
4. Written informed consent must be obtained from the participant before study participation.
5. Participant is in good medical health.
6. No current abuse of alcohol or other substance.
7. Capable of giving informed consent.
8. Capable of doing active or sham CES treatments and completing all study requirements independently
9. For compliance, participants need to have completed 85% (36) of treatments to continue participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Participant had serious complications during or after a vaginal or cesarean delivery.
2. Participant had multiple births.
3. Participant meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-V criteria for a mental disorder diagnosis (i.e., schizophrenia, mood disorder, psychosis, anorexia nervosa) as determined by medical history and/or self-report.
4. Participant is clinically judged by the investigator to be at risk for suicide or is acutely suicidal. Participant has attempted suicide one or more times within the past twelve months.
5. Participant has a Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A14) score above 30 which suggests a very severe clinical level of anxiety symptoms.
6. Participant has a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) score above 30 which suggests a very severe clinical level of depressive symptoms.
7. Participant has a psychiatric condition that would require inpatient or partial psychiatric hospitalization.
8. Participant has a significant history of medical disease (i.e. cardiovascular, hepatic (e.g., cirrhosis, hepatitis B or C) renal, gynecological, musculoskeletal, neurological (seizures), gastrointestinal, metabolic, hematological, endocrine, cancer with a metastatic potential or progressive neurological disorders) which could impair reliable participation in the trial or necessitate the use of medication not allowed by this protocol.
9. Participant is pregnant, planning to become pregnant. If a participant becomes pregnant, she will be dropped from the study immediately and followed appropriately.
10. Participant has had concomitant therapy with another investigational drug, or participation in an investigational drug study within one month before entering this study.
11. Participant has a history of poor compliance or in the investigator's judgment any participant who is not compliant with the requirements of the study.
12. Participant has had previous trial of CES.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Active Comparator; About the size of a smart phone, the Alpha-Stim® AID CES device delivers a mild electrical current (100-500 µA) to the brain via ear clips electrodes. The active intervention is one daily 60 minutes Alpha-Stim® CES treatment using ear clip electrodes for 6 weeks at 0.5 Hz. 50% duty cycle with a fixed current of 100 µA (subsensory level).	Device: Alpha-Stim AID CES (Active Comparator); The Alpha-Stim® AID CES device delivers a mild electrical current (100-500 µA) to the brain via ear clips electrodes. The treatment regimen is one daily 60 minutes Alpha-Stim® CES treatment using ear clip electrodes for 6 weeks at 0.5 Hz. 50% duty cycle with a fixed current of 100 µA (subsensory level).; Other Names: Alpha-Stim AID
Sham Comparator: Sham Comparator; The Alpha-Stim® AID CES sham device is identical in appearance to the active device but is inactive and does not emit electrical current to the brain via ear clip electrodes. The sham intervention is one daily 60 minutes Alpha-Stim® CES treatment using ear clip electrodes for 6 weeks.	Device: Alpha-Stim AID CES (Sham Comparator); The Alpha-Stim® AID CES sham device is inactive and does not emit electrical current to the brain via ear clip electrodes. The sham treatment regimen is one daily 60 minutes Alpha-Stim® CES treatment using ear clip electrodes for 6 weeks.; Other Names: Alpha-Stim AID

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To measure the effect of CES on anxiety in new mothers during the postpartum period.	The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A14)	Duration is six weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To measure the effect of CES on depression in new mothers during the postpartum period.	The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale17 (HAM-D17)	Duration is six weeks
To measure the effect of CES on sleep quality in new mothers during the postpartum period.	The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI19)	Duration is six weeks
To measure the effect of CES on insomnia in new mothers during the postpartum period.	The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI7)	Duration is six weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Christina Murphey, RN, PhD
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Christina Murphey, RN, PhD, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Murphey C, Carter P, Price LR, Champion JD, Nichols F. Psychological Distress in Healthy Low-Risk First-Time Mothers during the Postpartum Period: An Exploratory Study. Nurs Res Pract. 2017;2017:8415083. doi: 10.1155/2017/8415083. Epub 2017 Jan 16.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 22, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 27, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Anxiety; Efficacy; Insomnia; Sleep Quality; Post Partum; Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES); Maternal Functioning
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: DCHIRB#00001244

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No