The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing is recruiting pregnant women for a new Mindful Moms research study, which involves gentle prenatal yoga and nurse-led motivational interviewing.

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a grant to Patricia Kinser, Ph.D., for a pilot study that will examine how motivational interviewing and prenatal yoga might reduce or prevent depression during and after pregnancy. “Nearly 20 percent of pregnant women experience depressive symptoms during pregnancy and 13 percent experience chronic, recurrent symptoms,” says Kinser, whose research focuses on stress and depression in women and their families.

“Appropriate treatment of depressive symptoms in pregnancy is essential, yet many women find the typical treatments such as antidepressant medications and psychotherapy insufficient to address their symptoms,” Kinser says, adding that women are often concerned about the stigma and cost of drugs and the possible side effects on themselves or their babies. “Pregnant women are in great need of safe, inexpensive self-management therapies to enhance their well-being, reduce the burden of symptoms during and after pregnancy and prevent chronic reoccurrence of depression.”

For more information, contact Amy Rider, project director, at 804-828-5579 or [email protected].