Stress Responses in Mothers and Infants After Prenatal Mindfulness Training
Studies whether prenatal mindfulness training affects heart responses to stress in mothers and infants.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Stress Reactivity and Mother-Infant Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Key facts
- Where
- Providence, United StatesSee the site
Where in United States
- Women's Medicine Collaborative, LifespanProvidence, United StatesNo longer taking part
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Lifespan
- Trial code
- NCT06805799
- Record updated
- 1 April 2026
- Original description
Prenatal Mindfulness training (MT) shows promise as a preventive intervention against hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and may reduce risk for offspring cardiovascular disease (CVD). One proposed mechanism of MT to reduced CVD risk is improved self-regulation following stress. Perhaps the most crucial contributor to the development of self-regulation in the first year is the psychophysiological coregulatory relationship between mother and infant. However, this self-and co-regulation among women exposed to prenatal MT has not been studied and has yet to be examined in relation to CVD risk. The goal of this proposed project is to evaluate maternal-infant physiological reactivity to and recovery from stress at 6 months postpartum following prenatal MT, and to examine the relationship between these maternal infant stress responses and maternal-infant CVD risk at 12 months postpartum.Read full original descriptionShow less
Maternal-Infant Stress Reactivity as an Intergenerational Pathway to Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Prenatal Mindfulness training (MT) shows promise as a preventive intervention against hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and may reduce risk for offspring cardiovascular disease (CVD). One proposed mechanism of MT to reduced CVD risk is improved self-regulation following stress. Perhaps the most crucial contributor to the development of self-regulation in the first year is the psychophysiological coregulatory relationship between mother and infant. However, this self-and co-regulation among women exposed to prenatal MT has not been studied and has yet to be examined in relation to CVD risk. The goal of this proposed project is to evaluate maternal-infant physiological reactivity to and recovery from stress at 6 months postpartum following prenatal MT, and to examine the relationship between these maternal infant stress responses and maternal-infant CVD risk at 12 months postpartum.
Using a lab-based stress paradigm and well-validated biomarkers of mother and infant CVD risk, the investigators will assess respiratory sinus arrhythmia and heart rate at 6 months postpartum for 40 mother-infant dyads who have completed either prenatal MT or a usual care arm of an RCT examining MT for women at risk for HDP. The investigators will compare maternal, infant, and dyadic stress responses by treatment arm. Then, cardiac stress responses will be examined as predictors of maternal and infant biomarkers of CVD risk at 12 months postpartum.
Inclusion: 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: 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); -.