Abstract
This pilot study explored the effects of a two-week mindfulness-based intervention designed to enhance maternal-fetal bonding among pregnant women. Participants who listened to their baby’s heartbeat every day for two weeks and received four texts per week with mindfulness-based activities to do from home reported a significant increase in reported maternal-fetal attachment scores across the study period. Enhancing maternal-fetal bonding through this low-cost intervention has the potential for reducing adverse birth outcomes.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (P20GM109097; Jennifer Hays-Grudo, PI). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The study sponsor had no role in study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, writing the report, or the decision to submit the report for publication. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2019 annual conference of the American Academy of Health Behavior in Greenville, SC.
Disclosure
Dr. Karina M Shreffler reports grants from National Institute of General Medical Sciences, during the conduct of the study. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.