# The Effect of Mindfulness Interventions on the Sleep Quality of Pregnant Mothers in the Second and Third Trimesters of Pregnancy: Mindfulness and Sleep Quality in Pregnancy

## TL;DR

This study shows that mindfulness training improves sleep quality and reduces anxiety and stress in pregnant women during their second and third trimesters.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in improving sleep quality and psychological wellbeing in pregnant women.

## Key findings

- Mindfulness interventions significantly improved sleep quality in pregnant mothers.
- The intervention reduced anxiety, stress, and depression scores in participants.
- Effects were maintained one month after the intervention.

## Abstract

Sleep disorder is a common problem during pregnancy and a large percentage of
pregnant women (especially in the third trimester of pregnancy) experience
changes in their natural sleep pattern. Considering the fact that sleep
disorder can cause many complications before, during and after childbirth,
it is necessary to achieve good sleep quality during pregnancy. Therefore,
the present research investigated the effect of mindfulness interventions on
the quality of sleep among pregnant mothers in the second and third
trimesters of pregnancy.

The present randomized clinical trial study used pre-education-post-education
design in Sabzevar Health Center from 2019 to 2020 on all pregnant women
referred for receiving prenatal care. A sample of 98 women who met the
inclusion criteria were divided into intervention (n=50) and control groups
(n=48). The sleep quality and depression anxiety and stress -21 (DASS-21)
questionnaires, were completed by two groups at pre-test, post-test, and one
month after the educational intervention. The intervention group received 6
sessions (1 hour and 30 minutes) of mindfulness lessons during 2 months,
while the control group received routine pregnancy care and a mindfulness
session was performed after completion of the post-education. Data was
analyzed by SPSS software (version 20) and descriptive and repeated measures
analysis were used.

Mindfulness interventions were effective in changing the sleep quality of
pregnant mothers (P0.05). Also, the mean scores of anxiety, stress and
depression questionnaires of pregnant mothers, as confounding variables on
sleep quality, was significantly changed during different stages of the
study (P0.05).

Mindfulness training significantly increased the sleep quality of pregnant
mothers. Therefore, mindfulness interventions can be used as effective
interventions in improving psychological wellbeing during pregnancy and also
reducing the anxiety and stress of pregnant women.