The Mother Whisperer |
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Can breathing mitigate the stress of a prenatal diagnosis?
Fetal conditions are stressful.
They interrupt families’ lives,
put new demands on their
time and finances, shatter
their expectations of what
parenthood might be.
That stress has real
consequences. In the U. S.,
about 1 in 7 moms and 1 in
10 dads experiences some
kind of perinatal mood or
anxiety disorder. In fetal care
units, those numbers more
than double.
“ Most of the mothers
in our center are facing
very stressful, uncertain
situations,” says psychologist
Allison Dempsey, Director of
Behavioral Health Programs at
Children’ s Hospital Colorado’ s
Level IV Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit and Colorado Fetal
Care Center.“ So much feels
out of their control.”
And what stresses the mother
stresses the baby— whose
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health, by virtue of their diagnosis, is already fragile. Stress is risk.
Dr. Dempsey is working to counter that risk by teaching mothers how to breathe.
“ When you breathe a little slower, a little deeper, your blood vessels dilate, your blood pressure goes down,” says Dr. Dempsey.“ It calms the autonomic nervous system.”
It also increases a phenomenon known as heart rate variability that’ s been linked to a host of health benefits, most notably stress reduction. Interestingly, heart rate variability decreases naturally during pregnancy. But various studies have shown that biofeedback can help pregnant women increase it, even during the peripartum period.
“ It’ s well-established for anxiety,” Dr. Dempsey says.“ But never in the high-risk population.”
For that, Dr. Dempsey is using an established 5-session protocol that focuses initially on helping mothers slow their breathing to about 6 breaths
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per minute( the average
person breathes at about 12 to
18). In later sessions, patients
turn their attention directly
to heart rate variability
using a variety of programs
and games. In one game, for
example, patients can clarify
a blurry picture by increasing
their heart rate variability.
So far, patients have reported
lower stress. Dr. Dempsey
hopes to quantify her results
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by recording objective
outcomes data— does heart
rate variability improve with
practice?— as well as more
subjective measures of stress,
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anxiety, depression and posttraumatic
stress symptoms.
She’ s also working on a
research protocol in which she
hopes to follow subjects for at
least a year.
“ We’ re giving them something
tangible they can use to focus
on their physical reactions
and change their mental
health,” says Dr. Dempsey.“ It
can’ t just be an afterthought.
Mental health affects
physical health. We need to address it in real time.” •
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One in 7 mothers experiences a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder. In fetal care units, that number doubles.
Above: A prenatal diagnosis is stressful— and stress comes with risks. Dr. Dempsey is working to counter those risks by teaching mothers how to breathe.
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