A pilot study of heart rate variability biofeedback therapy in the treatment of perinatal depression on a specialized pe
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
A pilot study of heart rate variability biofeedback therapy in the treatment of perinatal depression on a specialized perinatal psychiatry inpatient unit A. Jenna Beckham & Tammy B. Greene & Samantha Meltzer-Brody
Received: 28 August 2012 / Accepted: 12 November 2012 / Published online: 25 November 2012 # Springer-Verlag Wien 2012
Abstract Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) therapy may be useful in treating the prominent anxiety features of perinatal depression. We investigated the use of this nonpharmacologic therapy among women hospitalized with severe perinatal depression. Three questionnaires, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and Linear Analog Self Assessment, were administered to 15 women in a specialized inpatient perinatal psychiatry unit. Participants were also contacted by telephone after discharge to assess continued use of HRVB techniques. The use of HRVB was associated with an improvement in all three scales. The greatest improvement (−13.867, p < 0.001 and −11.533, p < 0.001) was among STAI scores. A majority (81.9 %, n09) of women surveyed by telephone also reported continued frequent use at least once per week, and over half (54.6 %, n06) described the use of HRVB techniques as very or extremely beneficial. The use of HRVB was associated with statistically significant improvement on all instrument scores, the A. J. Beckham : S. Meltzer-Brody University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA A. J. Beckham e-mail: [email protected] A. J. Beckham Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA T. B. Greene : S. Meltzer-Brody (*) Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box # 7160, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA e-mail: [email protected] T. B. Greene e-mail: [email protected]
greatest of which was STAI scores, and most women reported frequent continued use of HRVB techniques after discharge. These results suggest that HRVB may be particularly beneficial in the treatment of the prominent anxiety features of perinatal depression, both in inpatient and outpatient settings. Keywords Depression . Pregnancy . Perinatal depression . Postpartum depression . Biofeedback . Complementary and alternative medicine
Introduction Perinatal depression is defined as the occurrence of a major and/or minor depressive episode either during pregnancy or within a period of up to 12 months following delivery (Gavin et al. 2005; Gaynes et al. 2005; O'Hara and Swain 1996; Yonkers et al. 2001). Prevalence estimates for major and minor depression includes ranges of 8.5–11.0 % during pregnancy and 6.5–12.9 % during the first 12 months postpartum (Gaynes et al. 2005). Risk factors for perinatal depression include depression before or during pregnancy (Beck 2001; Milgrom et al. 2008; O'Hara and Swain 1996; Robertson et al. 2004), marital discord (Beck 2001; O'Hara and Swain 1996), po
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