Help coming for stressed pregnant women

Researchers at Waikato University’s Psychology Department are conducting a study of pregnant women and their partners to understand prenatal stress and gain insight into stress management techniques.

The importance of psychological well-being during pregnancy is only beginning to be understood, with recent overseas findings suggesting that high stress and anxiety could lead to health and developmental problems for the baby.

Clinical psychologist Dr Carrie Barber says there is very little documentation available in New Zealand to devise a strategy to help expectant mothers to cope with stress.

“The goal is to figure out how to help people who are struggling cope with stress. We hope to describe the levels of stress, and how different people cope with various kinds of stressors,” says Dr Barber, a senior lecturer at the university.

One component of the study will be to see if a computer-based biofeedback programme can help pregnant women relax. Biofeedback computers are designed to measure small physiological changes and convert these signals into visual graphics. As the graphics represent the person’s level of stress, this helps train self-relaxation by using various techniques like guided imagery or deep breathing.

Dr Barber says biofeedback programmes are applied to help individuals combat a range of problems including migraines and high blood pressure. However, the idea of using it with pregnant women to help them to manage stress is a novel one.

Part of the prenatal stress project focuses on women in hospital with pregnancy complications, as this is a group experiencing particularly stressful circumstances during pregnancy. “We identified women on the prenatal unit as being a very stressed group, going through a difficult time,” Dr Barber says.

Dr Barber, who was herself hospitalised while pregnant with her son, says it made sense to focus on helping this group as these women are struggling with a specific stress. Besides “being stuck in hospital”, they have medical concerns, are anxious about their baby’s health and often feel helpless.

“An effective intervention strategy can be developed by looking closely at the factors contributing to people coping with that kind of stress.”

As well as those in hospital, the study includes women out in the community for a spectrum of situations. In order to understand the impact of various stress factors, researchers ask women to fill in questionnaires relating to life events, feelings, relationships, health behaviours and experiences with maternity care. Partners will also be surveyed, as Dr Barber thinks they are often neglected when it comes to pregnancy. She says the sets of data collated promises to open up an area of research that will greatly benefit New Zealand women, their partners and babies.

Dr Barber and fellow Waikato senior researcher Dr Nicola Starkey currently supervise seven students working on aspects of prenatal stress. They hope to attract up to 400 couples to participate in the study that will run until June 2010, while the biofeedback trial is scheduled to start early next year. The project has been developed in collaboration with staff on Ward 54, Waikato Hospital’s antenatal unit, and healthcare providers in the community, and is supported by a grant from the university’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Women interested in participating in the study need to be at least 8 weeks pregnant. Couples can complete questionnaires online (http://psychology.waikato.ac.nz/surveys/mothers/index.htm), or request a question pack to be sent to them by contacting Dr Barber on 07 838 4466 ext 6685, or ccbarber@waikato.ac.nz.