Feasibility of a Relaxation Guided Imagery Intervention to Reduce Maternal Stress in the NICU.

Objective: To test the feasibility of a relaxation guided imagery (RGI) intervention for mothers of hospitalized preterm infants and to explore the biobehavioral effects of RGI on their distress, responsiveness, and physiological stress.

Design: Single sample, pretest-posttest design.

Setting: A large Level III NICU in Southern California.

Participants: Twenty mothers of hospitalized preterm infants (24-32 weeks gestational age).

Methods: Correlational analyses of RGI use with self-reported measures of distress (perceived stress, state anxiety, and depression symptoms), awakening salivary cortisol level, and salivary cortisol awakening response collected from mothers at baseline and after 8 weeks of an RGI intervention.

Results: Nineteen mothers completed the study. Average use of RGI varied from 1.7 to 7.4 times per week (mean = 4.46, standard deviation = 2.7). Greater average use of RGI was correlated with lower awakening cortisol levels (r = -.38), greater cortisol awakening response (r = .36), and lower levels of distress (perceived stress [r = -.38], anxiety [r = -.43], and depression [r = -.41]).

Conclusion: Relaxation guided imagery may be a feasible and acceptable intervention to reduce mental and physiologic stress and improve responsiveness in mothers of hospitalized preterm infants.