the effectiveness of group counseling based on mindfulness on pregnancy worries and stress in nulligravida women: a randomized field trial

Context: giving birth to one’s first child is associated with worries such as fear of fetal abnormalities,adapting to a new identity, and fear of childbirth, which can adversely affect the process of pregnancy,childbirth, and maternal and fetal/neonatal health.aims: the present study was conducted to determine the effect of mindfulness‑based group counselingon pregnancy worries and stress in nulligravida women.setting and design: the present randomized field trial study was conducted on 114 nulligravida womenat 12–20 weeks of gestation covered by comprehensive health centers of gorgan.materials and methods: the data were collected using a demographic form and the farsi version of the 25‑itempregnancy worries and stresses questionnaire. in the intervention group (n = 53), 6 to 12 pregnant womenparticipated in 8 weekly 120–150‑min sessions of mindfulness‑based group counseling. the mothers in the controlgroup (n = 61) received no intervention. at the end of the eighth session, the posttest was completed by both groups.statistical analysis used: data were analyzed in spss‑16 at a confidence level of 95% using the parametricindependent and paired t‑tests and nonparametric chi‑squared, mann‑whitney, and wilcoxon tests.results: the mean scores of pregnancy stress and worries before and after mindfulness‑based group counselingincreased by 11 units from 23.46 ± 13.03 to 34.96 ± 15.88 in the intervention group (p <0.001), butthese scores showed no significant changes in the control group in the pretest and posttest (p > 0.05).conclusion: the results showed that mindfulness‑based group counseling can abate the worries and stressesof nulligravida women.