Prenatal mindfulness program improves stress response in infants

Date:
March 10, 2022
Source:
University of California - San Francisco
Summary:
Infants whose mothers participated in a mindfulness-based program
during pregnancy had healthier stress responses at 6 months old,
a new study found.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Infants whose mothers participated in a mindfulness-based program during pregnancy had healthier stress responses at 6 months old, a new UC San Francisco study found.


==========================================================================
This is the first known study to show that a prenatal social intervention
may improve health outcomes in offspring, as measured by autonomic
nervous system responses, said Amanda Noron~a-Zhou, PhD, first author
of the study in Psychosomatic Medicine.

"It is really well established that maternal stress in pregnancy increases
the risk for health problems in the children," said Noron~a-Zhou, PhD,
a clinical psychologist affiliated with UCSF's Center for Health and
Community. "But we haven't had a good understanding of how this process
unfolds and of the biological mechanisms underlying it, or whether
we can buffer the effects of stress on negative health outcomes." The researchers studied 135 mother-infant dyads from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds who were experiencing high stress in their lives. Infants whose mothers underwent an eight-week mindfulness-based
program had a faster cardiovascular recovery from stressful interactions,
as well as more self-soothing behavior, than those who didn't.

An ability to "bounce back" from stress is tied to better health outcomes
later in life, said Nicki Bush, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry
and pediatrics in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the
senior author on the study.

"There has been so little research on what we can do in the positive lane;
it's been mostly about showing the negative effects of prenatal stress,"
Bush said.

"This is the next frontier -- interventions for moms that have positive
effects on both mom and baby." Quick Recovery from a Stressful Event


==========================================================================
The study follows one from 2019 showing the same mindfulness intervention reduced stress and depression in mothers, as well as improved their
glucose tolerance and physical activity levels.

To elicit the infants' stress response, mothers were trained in the
"still face paradigm," whereby the mothers played with their children
for two minutes, then held a completely neutral facial expression for
two minutes and ignored the babies' bids for attention. They repeated
the play-ignore cycle and ended with two minutes of play.

Using electrodes, the researchers collected measurements of the
infants' autonomic nervous system activity -- the fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest responses -- during the exercise. Trained observers,
who were unaware of treatment status, also coded the infants' behavior responses.

The fight-or-flight response of babies whose mothers had undergone the mindfulness program was more acute when they were being ignored by their mothers and also receded more quickly after the stressor went away than
babies in the control group. The treatment-group babies engaged in more self-soothing behavior, such as sucking their thumbs and looking at
their hands, as well.

"A strong reaction and quick recovery are healthy, because we want our
bodies to be ready for action when something is wrong, then go back to
normal easily," Bush said. "The babies whose mothers did not receive the intervention had a more delayed response. They didn't respond strongly
until the threat had passed, and then they didn't calm down easily after
the threat was over." Support for a Two-Generation Approach


==========================================================================
The team intentionally chose mothers for their research who had a high
level of stress due to their life situations, including financial strain
and health challenges, to ensure the intervention worked for those who
might benefit from it the most, said Bush.

"We hope this kind of data can embolden policymakers and advocates
to say, hey, this was an inexpensive, group-based intervention that
reduced mothers' depression and stress, and may improve babies' long-term wellbeing at the same time" Bush said.

Such "two-generation" programs that address caregivers and children
at the same time are becoming more popular in California. Last year's
state budget dedicated $800 million to creating a dyadic care benefit
for Medi-Cal patients, which will allow caregivers and babies to be
treated for behavioral health needs together. Home visiting programs,
in which pregnant and new mothers receive visits from early childhood professionals who provide parenting guidance, is up for a proposed $50
million increase in the 2022-23 state budget.

"Pregnancy is an incredible window of opportunity for both mothers and
babies," said Bush. "We could, as a society, save a lot of money while
doing the right thing for the next generation." Authors: In addition
to Drs. Noron~a-Zhou and Bush, UCSF co-authors are Michael Coccia, MS,
Elissa Epel, PhD, and Nancy E. Adler, from the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Sciences, as well as Karen Jones-Mason, JD, PhD. All are affiliated with the Center for Health and Community and Weill Institutes
for Neurosciences. Abbey Alkon, PhD, UCSF Department of Health Care
Nursing, also co-authored. Additional authors and affiliations can be
found in the paper.

Funding: This study was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute under award numbers U01 HL097973 and R01 HL116511, the Robert
Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program, the Lisa and John
Pritzker Family Fund, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences-National Institutes of Health (UCSF-CTSI UL1 TR000004), the
Tauber Family Foundation, and the Lisa Stone Pritzker Family Foundation.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Francisco. Original written by Jess
Berthold. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Noron~a-Zhou, Amanda N.; Coccia, Michael; Epel, Elissa; Vieten,
Cassandra; Adler, Nancy E.; Laraia, Barbara; Jones-Mason, Karen;
Alkon, Abbey; Bush, Nicole R. The Effects of a Prenatal Mindfulness
Intervention on Infant Autonomic and Behavioral Reactivity and
Regulation.

Psychosomatic Medicine, Mar. 10, 2022 DOI:
10.1097/PSY.0000000000001066
2. E. Epel, B. Laraia, K. Coleman-Phox, C. Leung, C. Vieten,
L. Mellin, J.

L. Kristeller, M. Thomas, N. Stotland, N. Bush, R. H. Lustig,
M. Dallman, F. M. Hecht, N. Adler. Effects of a Mindfulness-Based
Intervention on Distress, Weight Gain, and Glucose Control for
Pregnant Low-Income Women: A Quasi-Experimental Trial Using the
ORBIT Model. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2019;
26 (5): 461 DOI: 10.1007/s12529-019-09779-2 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220310143732.htm

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