Acupuncture and Massage for Depression During Pregnancy
Rachel Manber, PhD, Principal Investigator
Depression During Pregnancy
Depression is, unfortunately, as common during pregnancy as it is during other periods of our life. Treating depression during pregnancy is important because when not treated, depression during pregnancy increases the risks for:
- decreased appetite and poorer weight gain during pregnancy
- inconsolability and excessive crying of newborns
- delivering infants of low birth weight
- post-partum depression (which has been linked to disturbance in behavioral and cognitive development of the infant).
Why study alternative treatments during pregnancy?
Many women are reluctant to take antidepressant medications during pregnancy and have limited access to psychotherapy. Pilot research indicates that the treatments provided in this study might be helpful for reducing depressive symptoms.
What are symptoms of depression
- feeling sad, unhappy, empty, or helpless
- trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- low energy, fatigue, lack of motivation
- eating too little or too much
- enjoying activities less than usual
- difficulty concentrating
- thinking a lot about death
- feeling worthless or guilty.
Participants in the study
Eligible participate in the study will receive at least 12 sessions of free acupuncture or massage over a period of 8 weeks. Depending on the response to the treatment, participants may continue to receive weekly sessions until 10 weeks post delivery.
For more information, contact: 650-723-5886 or STRC@med.Stanford.edu
Federally funded by:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Study is conducted at:
Stanford Treatment Research Center (STRC), Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
Recruiting through 2007
Relevant links with information about:
Depression
- Understanding Major Depression (2.6MB Adobe Acrobat file)
- Major Depression (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - NAMI)
- Depression (National Institute of Mental Health - NIMH)
Acupuncture
- Treating Depression with Acupuncture (Acupuncture-Online)
Massage
Other depression research studies at Stanford:
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