THE IMPACT OF STRESS REDUCTION PROGRAM BASED ON MINDFULNESS AND CONSCIOUS YOGA ON DEPRESSION, PERCEIVED STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PREGNANT WOMEN

ELLAHE SHAHTAHERI*, SOHEILA HOSSEINIAN*, MANSOUREH EBRAHIMI**, ZAHRA JALILABADI***, FAZLOLAH MIRDERIKVAND****

*Master of Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran - **Master of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran - ***Master of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University Sari Branch, Tehran, Iran - ****PhD of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanties Science, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran

Objective: There are a lot of physical and inner changes during pregnancy period. These can start with slight psychological disorders and then leads to severe psychological disorders or even psychosis. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effect of stress reduction program based on mindfulness and conscious yoga on depression, perceived stress and lifestyle of pregnant women.

Methodology: In this study, a randomized controlled clinical trial with measurements in pre-test, post-test, and control group was used and 30 pregnant women diagnosed with depression and stress were selected by convenience among the patients who were taken to the maternity ward of Shariati hospital in Tehran. Consequently, they were randomly put into two groups including test group (n=15; under the treatment of mindfulness-based stress reduction program and conscious yoga in eight weekly group session) and control group (n=15). Hamilton depression scale perceived stress scale and quality of life questionnaire were completed by the participants in all three phases.

Results: Based on the analysis of variance with repeated measures, this intervention was effective in quality of life and psychological components. The signs of depression and perceived stress decreased compared to baseline and it lasted for two months of follow-up.

Conclusion: The results of this research suggests that mindfulness-based stress reduction program and conscious yoga can be considered as a suitable remedy for improving the quality of life and decreasing stress in pregnant women. Thus, implementation of mindfulness-based stress reduction program and conscious yoga is suggested.