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Stress Reduction Therapy for Pregnant Women

Not Applicable
Conditions
Prenatal Stress
Interventions
Behavioral: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Other: Parent craft
Registration Number
NCT03404141
Lead Sponsor
Universidad de Granada
Brief Summary

Prenatal stress is associated with negative outcomes such as postpartum depression, prematurity or neurodevelopmental delays.

The aim of this study is to implement a psychological therapy to reduce stress during pregnancy.

Detailed Description

Objective: To assess whether the group of pregnant women have lower levels of stress after attending the psychological therapy than the group attending parent craft classes.

The cognitive-behavioural therapy to reduce stress will be held in 10 sessions (1 per week) as follows:

First session: General information about pregnancy. Pregnant women will describe what can they do to reduce stress levels.

Second session: Breathing techniques and talk about how last week went. Third session: Muscle relaxation and guided imagination techniques Fourth session: Cognitive restructuring. Being able to detect thoughts and feelings Fifth session: Detect cognitive distortions Sixth session: Cognitive restructuring Seventh session: Time management Eighth session: Problems solving Ninth session: Assertively and social skills Tenth session: How to ask for help when needed and learning to say "No".

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
40
Inclusion Criteria
  • Low risk Pregnant women
  • Gestational age between 10-27 weeks
  • Proficiency in the Spanish language
Exclusion Criteria
  • Corticoids treatment
  • Gestational Diabetes
  • Psychological diagnosed

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Experimental groupCognitive-Behavioral TherapyThe intervention administered to the experimental group will be a cognitive-behavior therapy applied by two specifically trained psychologists. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, this group will be implemented online using a videocall online platform (from April 2019 to the end of mobility restrictions).
Control groupParent craftThe intervention administered to the control group will consist on a regular parent craft classes offered by the community midwife Due to COVID-19 pandemic, this group will be implemented online using a videocall online platform (from April 2019 to the end of mobility restrictions).
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in hair cortisol levelsBaseline, and 3 months

Change in hair cortisol levels at different time points

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Symptoms Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R)Baseline, and 3 months

This is a 90-item scale scored using a 5-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 4 (extremely). This instrument is used to assess 9 dimensions: Somatization, Obsession-compulsion, Interpersonal sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, Phobic anxiety, Paranoid ideation, and Psychoticism. The scale also has 7 extra items distributed among 3 global indexes of distress: the GSI, which measures overall psychological distress; the PSDI, which is used to measure the intensity of symptoms; and Positive Symptom Total, used to measure the number of self-reported symptoms. Using the author´s instructions, the scores are transformed to percentiles (0-100). Percentiles ≥ 70 represent clinical symptoms in any of the subscale of this instrument.

Change in Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)Baseline, and 3 months

It consists of 25 items evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0-4: not true at all (0), rarely true (1), sometimes true (2), often true (3), and true nearly all of the time (4) - these ratings result in a number between 0-100, and higher scores indicate higher resilience.

Change in Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ)Baseline, and 3 months

It is a 12-item instrument scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 (none at all) to 4 (extremely) to assess specific worries and concerns pregnant women experience regarding medical problems, physical symptoms, body changes, labor, childbirth, relationships, and the baby's health. Scores range from 0-48 (higher scores represent higher levels of pregnancy specific-stress)

Change in Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)Baseline, and 3 months

The PSS provides information on the perception of general stress during the preceding month. It consists on 14 items scores on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = never, 1 = almost never, 2 = once in a while, 3 = often, 4 = very often). Scores range from 0-56 (higher scores represent higher levels of stress)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Granada

🇪🇸

Churriana de la vega, Granada, Spain

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