Cognitive Behavioral Counseling and Sleep Quality in Pregnant Women: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose of Review The study was conducted to determine the effect of cognitive behavioral counseling on sleep quality of pregnant women. Recent Findings This study was a parallel randomized controlled trial in Zanjan’s comprehensive healthcare centers in 2019. Convenience sampling was conducted on 56 eligible women who were singleton primiparous participants and having sleep quality score more than 5. Participants were divided into two groups of intervention and control (28 in each) based on the blocked random allocation method. In the intervention group, counseling was conducted in five 90-min session on a weekly basis according to the Edinger and Carney’s multi components program of CBT, while the control group received the routine prenatal care. The study tools included Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Restless Leg Syndrome Screening Scale, and Berlin Questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted Generalized Estimating Equation test. By controlling pre-test scores, the quality of sleep and its subscales except use of sleep medications in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group at the follow-up periods (p’s<0.05). Moreover, the scores of depression and stress improved in the intervention group compared to the control group over the time (p’s<0.05). However, anxiety score did not change significantly. Summary It seems that cognitive behavioral counseling could improve the sleep quality of pregnant women.