Impact of IBSR on Postpartum Mothers' Mental Health.

Tel Aviv University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Postpartum Mothers

Treatments: Behavioral: Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06490094

IBSR Postpartum Mothers

Details and patient eligibility

About

The period of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum phase significantly impacts the mental health of women and their families. Mental health is crucial for overall well-being, quality of life, and is associated with healthcare costs. Therefore, promoting mental health should be a top priority in public health and health promotion efforts.

The Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) intervention, developed by Byron Katie ("The Work"), enables participants to identify and question the stressful thoughts that cause their suffering. The core of IBSR involves a contemplative "inquiry" process and a "turnaround," which is a method of experiencing the opposite of what the participant believes. This process equips individuals with skills for self-inquiry and management of stressful thoughts that can be easily integrated into daily life.

Based on previous research, we hypothesize that the IBSR intervention can improve postpartum mothers' mental health.

Full description

In recent years, there is growing evidence regarding the effectiveness of population-based mental health promotion interventions. Developing social and emotional skills such as improved self-esteem, sense of control and self-efficacy, self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relationships with others, problem-solving, and coping skills has been shown to improve mental health and contribute to psychological well-being. According to the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE, 2021), interventions to promote mental health can be classified into eight priority areas. The first priority is to promote the mental health of infants and mothers by focusing on social and emotional development and positive mental health in early childhood development services, including prenatal care, home visits, and parenting programs. The healthcare system today faces the challenge of gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow women to develop and maintain positive mental health in the postpartum period and understanding how these mechanisms are sustained over time.

The Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) intervention, developed by Byron Katie ("The Work"), enables participants to identify and question the stressful thoughts that cause their suffering. The core of IBSR involves a contemplative "inquiry" process and a "turnaround," which is a method of experiencing the opposite of what the participant believes. This process equips individuals with skills for self-inquiry and management of stressful thoughts that can be easily integrated into daily life. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that the IBSR intervention can improve postpartum mothers' mental health.

Enrollment: 68 estimated patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 45 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Mothers up to two years after giving birth, between the ages of 18 and 45 (at the time of birth), without a history of mental disorders or illnesses

Exclusion criteria

• Mothers with a history of illness or mental disorders
• mothers who have passed more than two years since their last birth

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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68 participants in 2 patient groups

Inquiry Based Stress Reduction

Experimental group

Description:

Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) program

Treatment:

Behavioral: Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR)

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Postpartum mothers who are randomly assigned to not receive the Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) intervention