Mindfulness meditation and improvement of anxiety among women trying to conceive

Abstract

Background and objective: Anxiety disorders are prevalent among women attempting to conceive, contributing to emotional distress and potentially affecting fertility outcomes. Traditional pharmacological treatments pose concerns during preconception and pregnancy, emphasizing the need for effective non-pharmacological interventions. Mindfulness meditation has emerged as a promising approach for reducing anxiety, yet limited research focuses on its impact on women trying to conceive. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of daily mindfulness meditation in reducing anxiety levels among women actively attempting to conceive within one year.

Methods: A nine-week cross-sectional survey study was conducted with 14 women aged 32-42 receiving care at a private practice in Chicago, Illinois. Participants engaged in daily ten-minute guided mindfulness meditation sessions using the Insight Timer app. Anxiety levels were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale at baseline, weeks 3, 6, and 9. Data analysis included one-way ANOVA to compare mean GAD-7 scores across time points.

Results: GAD-7 scores demonstrated a clinically meaningful decrease over time, with mean scores declining from 9.6 at baseline to 4.2 at week 9. Although the reduction was not statistically significant (p = .083), sustained improvement in anxiety levels suggests the intervention's potential benefit. The highest drop in anxiety occurred between weeks 3 and 6, with effects persisting post-intervention.

Conclusions: Daily mindfulness meditation may serve as a valuable, non-pharmacological strategy for reducing anxiety in women attempting to conceive. Despite the small sample size and lack of statistical significance, the observed clinical improvements highlight the need for larger-scale studies to further explore mindfulness meditation's role in fertility-related anxiety management.