Efficacy, Feasibility, and Acceptability of Perinatal Yoga on Women’s Mental Health and Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction: Perinatal major depressive disorder affects 20% of women, while perinatal anxiety affects 10% of women. Although pharmacological treatment has shown effectiveness, many pregnant women are concerned about potential adverse effects on the fetus, maternal–infant bonding, and child development. Approximately 38% of American adults use complementary and alternative medicine, including yoga and other mind–body strategies. Although complementary and alternative medicine has been less studied in the perinatal population, it potentially offers women and their providers alternatives to traditional medication for treatment of perinatal depression and anxiety. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to examine existing empirical literature on yoga and its effects on women’s health and well-being during the perinatal period. Method: Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for systemic literature reviews, literature searches using relevant search terms were performed in four major electronic databases: CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE. Thirteen publications met inclusion criteria. Results: Results indicated that yoga interventions are generally effective in reducing anxiety and depression in pregnant women. Discussion: The use of yoga in the perinatal period shows promise in improving mental health and well-being for women and infants. This review can inform future yoga intervention studies and clinical practice with the perinatal population

The Cultural Relevance of Mindfulness Meditation as a Health Intervention for African Americans: Implications for Reducing Stress-Related Health Disparities

African Americans experience a disproportionate rate of stress-related health conditions compared to European Americans. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to be effective for managing stress and various stress-related health conditions. This study explored the cultural relevance of mindfulness meditation training for African Americans adults. Fifteen African American adults with past or current experience with mindfulness meditation training were interviewed. Participants felt that mindfulness meditation helped them with enhanced stress management, direct health improvement, and enhanced self-awareness and purposefulness. They felt that they would recommend it and that other African Americans would be open to the practice but suggested that its presentation may need to be adapted. They suggested emphasizing the health benefits, connecting it to familiar spiritual ideology and cultural practices, supplementing the reading material with African American writers, increasing communication (education, instructor availability, “buddy system,” etc.), and including African Americans as instructors and participants. By implementing minor adaptations that enhance cultural relevance, mindfulness meditation can be a beneficial therapeutic intervention for this population

Mind-body interventions to reduce risk for health disparities related to stress and strength among African American women: The potential of mindfulness-based stress reduction, loving-kindness, and the NTU therapeutic framework

In the current article, the authors examine the potential role of mind-body interventions for preventing or reducing health disparities in a specific group-African American women. The authors first discuss how health disparities affect this group, including empirical evidence regarding the influence of biopsychosocial processes (e.g., psychological stress and social context) on disparate health outcomes. They also detail how African American women's unique stress experiences as a result of distinct sociohistorical and cultural experiences related to race and gender potentially widen exposure to stressors and influence stress responses and coping behaviors. Using two independent, but related, frameworks (Superwoman Schema [SWS] and the Strong Black Woman Script [SBW-S]), they discuss how, for African American women, stress is affected by "strength" (vis-à -vis resilience, fortitude, and self-sufficiency) and the emergent health-compromising behaviors related to strength (e.g., emotional suppression, extraordinary caregiving, and self-care postponement). The authors then describe the potential utility of three mind-body interventions-mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), loving-kindness meditation (LKM), and NTU psychotherapy-for specifically targeting the stress-, strength-, and contextually related factors that are thought to influence disparate outcomes for African American women. Self-awareness, self-care, inter- and intrapersonal restorative healing and a redefinition of inner strength may manifest through developing a mindfulness practice to decrease stress-related responses; using LKM to cultivate compassion and forgiveness for self and others; and the balance of independence and interdependence as a grounding NTU principle for redefining strength. The authors conclude with a discussion of potential benefits for integrating key aspects of the interventions with recommendations for future research

Association Between Superwoman Schema, Depression, and Resilience: The Mediating Role of Social Isolation and Gendered Racial Centrality

Objectives: We examined dimensions of Superwoman Schema as predictors of both depression and resilience. We also investigated if social isolation and gendered racial centrality mediated these relationships. Method: We used path analysis to investigate the direct and indirect effects of an obligation to display an image of strength, emotional suppression, and resistance to vulnerability on depressive symptoms through social isolation. We also explored the direct and indirect effects of an intense motivation to succeed and an obligation to help others on resilience through gendered racial centrality. Results: Emotional suppression and an obligation to help others were directly associated with depression. Emotional suppression, resistance to vulnerability, and an obligation to help others were indirectly associated with depression through social isolation. In contrast, an obligation to display an image of strength and an intense motivation to succeed was associated with resilience and gendered racial centrality. Conclusion: Findings highlight the unique complexity of Superwoman Schema as suggested within qualitative research. Black women’s endorsement of Superwoman Schema may be both adaptive in navigating interlocking systems of oppression and psychologically distressin

Whose Stress is Making Me Sick? Network-stress and Emotional Distress in African-American Women

Research on stress-related health outcomes in African-American women often neglects "network-stress": stress related to events that occur to family, friends, or loved ones. Data from the African-American Women's Well-Being Study were analyzed to examine self-stress and network-stress for occurrence, perceived stressfulness, and association with symptoms of psychological distress. Women reported a higher number of network-stress events compared with self-stress events. Occurrences of network-stress were perceived as undesirable and bothersome as self-stress. Both types of stress were significantly associated with psychological distress symptoms. Including network-stress may provide a more complete picture of the stress experiences of African-American women