Mindfulness for Perinatal Distress

This randomized controlled intervention study evaluated an 8-week group mindfulness intervention for pregnant women at 20 to 30 gestational weeks. Participants were randomized to mindfulness-based group intervention, group discussion, or health education. The study assessed anxiety, depressive symptoms, and fear of childbirth before and after intervention, and an exploratory subsample completed a pain dot-probe task to examine pain-related attention processing.

Inclusion Criteria: * Pregnant women at 20 to 30 gestational weeks. * No obvious pregnancy complications. * Able to complete questionnaires independently. * Willing to participate in the study and able to complete the 8-week intervention. * Provided written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Self-harm behavior or suicidal tendency. * Current psychiatric medication use. * Severe mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or organic mental disorder. * Severe somatic disease, such as abnormal liver or renal function, brain injury, heart disease, or epilepsy. * Pregnancy complications or expected inability to complete the intervention or follow-up.