Effects of relaxation on depression levels in women with high-risk pregnancies: a randomised clinical trial.
Wanda Scherrer de Araújo, Walckiria Garcia Romero, Eliana Zandonade and 1 others
PMID 27627126WHAT IT FOUND
Hospitalised women with high-risk pregnancies who learned Benson relaxation twice daily for five days had lower depression scores after five days than at admission.
In the relaxation group, the number of women scoring in the depressed range went from 13 to 0.
Key findings
01After five days, the relaxation group median depression score was 4.5, compared with 10.3 at admission, while the control group median score was 9.9, compared with 11.4 at admission.
02At the first timepoint, 13 women in the relaxation group and 13 women in the control group scored 12 or higher; at the second timepoint, 0 women in the relaxation group and 10 women in the control group scored 12 or higher.
03The relaxation group showed a decrease in depression symptoms between the first and second timepoints, while the control group showed no change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was small, with 50 women, and the authors note that the sample size was limited by excluding women hospitalised for fewer than five days. Follow-up was only five days, so it does not show whether depression scores stay lower after discharge or how the technique affects mother or baby. The depression measure is a screening tool, not a diagnosis, so a score of 12 or higher does not mean clinical depression was formally diagnosed. The groups differed in previous labour type, although other baseline variables were reported as similar. The trial was done in one public maternity ward with mainly low-income patients, so results may not transfer to other settings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the relaxation group's fall in depression scores as proof that relaxation cured depression. The scale used was a symptom screen, not a diagnosis, and the follow-up was only five days.