Dr Raja Gangopadhyay, Founder, International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy (IFWIP) conducted an opinion poll on Twitter on 18th March 2018.
He asked the question: “Is it possible to prevent recurrence of depression in perinatal period with Mindfulness-based intervention? What do you think?”
The options were: 1) Yes 2)No 3) Could be 4) More research needed
50 people participated in the poll and the results are as follows:
1. Yes: 15%
2. No: 10%
3. Could be: 29%
4. More research needed: 46%
A recent systematic review also suggests the need for more research: “Further methodologically rigorous evaluation using RCTs and longer follow-up periods are recommended.”
Some comments on the Twitter survey are as follows:
1) Sarah Hayes (Dearden @Sarahdearden1
“More research would be great in this area. I think mindfulness and CBT would help, not sure it would prevent relapse. It is worth trying as an alternative to medication.”
2) Elisha Nunhofer @ElishaNunhofer
“I too would like to see more research in this area. Also, to know what the mindfulness intervention would be. If this is with a professional and not alone, maybe that may have benefits for the woman – because she is not alone, is being supported and being heard.”
“Mindfulness while a useful tool in the kit, isn’t by itself enough to quickly bring down a traumatised client in a state of hyperarousal, so I would say we need to be more specific to see if depression is co-morbid with other conditions.”
“I wanted to vote on two options here, could be and more research needed. I think wellness is multifactorial and not one size fits all, plus dependent on the severity of depression, I think mindfulness is very helpful however preventing reoccurrence I’m not sure.”
Dr Gangopadhyay would like to thank everyone who participated in the poll.