Feasibility of an Online Mindfulness-Based Program for Mothers of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates in Japan

This study aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an online live mindfulness-based program for mothers of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) graduates in Japan, an understudied population for such interventions.

This study utilized a single-group pretest-post-test design. Twenty Japanese mothers of children previously hospitalized in the NICU participated in “MELON Online,” a Japanese online mindfulness-based program, for 4 weeks. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of MELON Online, assessed through program usage duration and post-intervention group interviews. The secondary objective focused on investigating preliminary efficacy of the intervention on trait anxiety, parenting stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion. This was examined using paired samples t-tests and Hedges’ g effect size estimates.

Average duration of program participation across the 20 mothers was 2.5 weeks. Fifteen participants attended at least two classes for 2 weeks or more, and 17 participants completed at least one of the two post-intervention assessments. Among the 16 pre- and post-intervention survey completers, there was a statistically significant reduction in trait anxiety. Live classes were more strongly associated with improvements in mindfulness than archival courses. In the post-intervention group interviews, participants reported a number of perceived benefits, including positive changes in their daily stress response patterns. No adverse events or perceived drawbacks were raised.

This study provided preliminary evidence that a brief online live mindfulness-based program is feasible, acceptable, and efficacious, particularly in reducing trait anxiety in mothers of children previously admitted to the NICU.

This study is not preregistered.