Stress Reactivity and Mother-Infant Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Launched by LIFESPAN · Jan 28, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how prenatal mindfulness training (MT) can help reduce the risks of high blood pressure during pregnancy and heart disease for both mothers and their babies. The researchers want to understand how stress affects mothers and infants after childbirth, specifically looking at how they respond to stress and recover from it. By comparing mothers and infants who participated in mindfulness training with those who received standard care, the study aims to learn more about the connection between stress responses and the risk of heart disease for both mothers and infants a year after giving birth.

To participate in this study, mothers need to be over 18 years old, have a single pregnancy (not twins or more), and be at a moderate to high risk for conditions like preeclampsia. The study will involve 40 mother-infant pairs who have completed the initial mindfulness training or usual care. Participants will undergo stress tests in a lab to measure their heart rates and other health markers. This research is not yet recruiting, so there’s still time to learn more about how mindfulness may help improve health outcomes for mothers and their babies.

Gender

FEMALE

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • For the parent RCT study: Inclusion criteria: singleton pregnancy, English speaking, \>18 years old, \<20 weeks' gestation at enrollment, normotensive at enrollment, and criteria consistent with 'moderate' to 'high' risk for preeclampsia based on American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologist guidelines. For the current research study: Participants will be (n=40) individuals from the parent RCT who have consented to be contacted for future research in the parent study and are not pregnant during the mentored research study procedures.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • For the parent RCT study: Exclusion criteria: multiple gestations; chronic hypertension; active suicidality or psychosis; ongoing mind-body practice (e.g., yoga, meditation, mindfulness \> once a week).
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