caa a22 4500 445304553 CHVBK 20180317142608.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110301xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10880-010-9218-z doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10880-010-9218-z Response to Induced Relaxation During Pregnancy: Comparison of Women with High Versus Low Levels of Anxiety [Elektronische Daten] [Judith Alder, Corinne Urech, Nadine Fink, Johannes Bitzer, Irene Hoesli] Relaxation exercises have become a standard intervention for individuals with anxiety disorders but little is known about their potential for anxiety relief during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to examine psychoendocrine (i) baseline differences and (ii) changes after a standardized relaxation period in pregnant women with high versus low levels of anxiety. Thirty-nine third-trimester high and low anxious pregnant women performed active or passive relaxation while levels of anxiety, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity were assessed before and after the relaxation period. In women with high levels of trait anxiety, state anxiety (F(1,36)=8.3, p=.007) and negative affect (F(1,36)=7.99, p=.008) as well as ACTH (F(1,35)=9.24, p=.002) remained elevated over the entire course of the experimental procedure, the last indicating increased HPA axis activity. In addition, norepinephrine showed a constricted decrease of relaxation reflecting lower response of the SAM-system (F(1,37)=4.41, p=.043). Although relaxation exercises have become a standard intervention for individuals with anxiety, pregnant women with high levels of trait anxiety benefited less than women with low levels from a single standardized relaxation period. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2011 Anxiety nationallicence Pregnancy nationallicence Relaxation exercise nationallicence HPA-axis nationallicence SAM-system nationallicence Alder Judith Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut Urech Corinne Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut Fink Nadine Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut Bitzer Johannes Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut Hoesli Irene Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 18/1(2011-03-01), 13-21 1068-9583 18:1<13 2011 18 10880 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-010-9218-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-010-9218-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Alder Judith Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Urech Corinne Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Fink Nadine Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bitzer Johannes Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Hoesli Irene Ob/Gyn, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 18/1(2011-03-01), 13-21 1068-9583 18:1<13 2011 18 10880 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer