Mindfulness Support for Diabetes During Pregnancy

UCI IRB # 3667

The purpose of this research study is to observe the effects of mindfulness practice on blood sugar control among pregnant women with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Dr. Karen Lindsay and researchers at Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute (SSIHI), University of California, Irvine, will be recruiting participants attending the Maternal Diabetes and Wellness Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange.

Eligibility criteria include:

• Over 18 years of age
• Before 18 weeks’ gestation
• Carrying one baby
• Able to speak and read English
• Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
• Attending St. Joseph’s for prenatal care

Participation involves completing online surveys, and attending a mindfulness class once per week over 10 weeks at St. Joseph’s Hospital, which are scheduled on the same day as your routine prenatal visits.

Mindfulness training is free of charge. Study participants will be compensated up to $125 for their time and effort.

Please refer to our recruitment flyer for more information of our project here.

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact page.

Prenatal Diet and Newborn Metabolic Health Study

Participation involves completing online surveys, providing one fasting blood sample that is scheduled when attending a routine OBGYN appointment, and agreeing to have a sample of blood collected from the umbilical cord after you give birth.

Study participants will receive up to $85 in e-gift cards for complete participation.

Please refer to our recruitment flyer for more information of our project here.

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact page.

Completed Studies

Postprandial Response to Emotion-Diet Interactions in Pregnancy: PREDIP study

UCI IRB HS#:2020-5914

PREDIP is a randomized, cross-over study funded by the NIH that will involve 80 pregnant women. The purpose of this study is to discover how maternal mental or emotional state in pregnancy influences metabolism of glucose and lipids after eating a meal, and whether these blood markers differ after eating a healthy meal (low glycemic index) compared to a less healthy meal (high glycemic index). The study rationale is to generate new evidence that will inform the development of subsequent prenatal healthy lifestyle interventions that integrate nutrition and stress-reduction strategies for improved maternal and child health outcomes. 

Eligibility criteria include:

• Age greater than or equal to 18 years
• Pregnant with one baby
• Less than 22 weeks gestation at enrollment
• Fluent in English and/or Spanish
• Non-smoker
• Non-diabetic

Participation involves completing interviews and questionnaires, taking basic measurements such as weight, height and blood pressure, eating a standard breakfast meal, completing a short task that involves speaking and/or counting, and collection of several small blood and saliva samples over a 3 hour period.

Study participants will be compensated for their time and effort as follows: $25 for completing a screening visit; $100 for completing each laboratory test visit. Thus, a participant who passes the screening visit eligibility and completes both test visits will receive total compensation of $225.

Please refer to our recruitment flyer for more information about this project here.

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact page.

Integrative Health and Wellness Program for Pregnant Women with Overweight and Obesity (IHW Study): A feasibility study

UCI IRB # 1435

IHW is a feasibility study conducted by Dr. Karen Lindsay and researchers from the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute (SSIHI) at the University of California, Irvine that will examine how nutrition education in combination with mindfulness practices may support mothers’ psychological wellbeing and health behaviors during pregnancy.  

Eligibility criteria include:

• Currently pregnant with one baby  
• Before 14 weeks in your pregnancy  
• Aged over 18 years  
• Non-diabetic 
• Fluent in English 
• Own a smartphone 

Participation involves virtual nutrition consults and cooking classes, wearing a lightweight heart rate monitor for a few days, and completing surveys and questionnaires. Some participants will also be assigned to do a daily 10-minute guided mindfulness practice using the Headspace smartphone application. All study procedures are done remotely and on a flexible schedule. 

Study participants will receive up to $110 cash compensation for for their time and participation in completing all the tasks and procedures for this study. 

Please refer to our recruitment flyer for more information about this project here.

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact page.

Feasibility and Efficacy of a Mindfulness-Based Smartphone Application for Pregnant Women

IRB HS# 2021-6886

The purpose of this research study is to assess the feasibility of a 30-day mindfulness-based smartphone application course among pregnant women. We also wish to understand if the mindfulness courses affect maternal mental well-being and health behaviors during pregnancy.

Eligibility criteria include:

·   Currently pregnant with one baby

·   Before 24 weeks in your pregnancy

·   Aged over 18 years

·   Non-diabetic

·   Fluent in English or Spanish

Participation involves 10-20 minutes of mindfulness practice a day for 30 consecutive days using the Headspace smartphone application mindfulness courses. There will also be questionnaires administered before and after the course. The following procedures will be conducted during the study:

·   Questionnaires

·   Mindfulness practices

You will receive up to $50 compensation as a gift card for participation in this study

Please refer to our recruitment flyer for more information about this project

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact page

First 1000 Days

The first 1000 days of life, from conception to age 2 years, is a critical window of development during which nutrition can profoundly impact a child’s developmental outcomes and long-term susceptibility to chronic diseases.

This cross-sectional, mixed-methods study aims to assess current status and gaps within nutrition-related resources and services offered by local health care, Governmental, and community organizations to pregnant and/or postpartum women, or families with children up to 2 years of age.

The overarching goal is to improve downstream child health outcomes by reducing food insecurity, improving nutrition security, and preventing obesity and diet-related chronic diseases that are overrepresented in historically marginalized and low-income communities.

The objective of this project is to inform the development and strategic implementation of an integrated program across Orange County that supports equity in access to nutritious foods, evidence-based nutrition education and skills-based training, and social support to empower and equip families with necessary tools to optimize early-life nutrition and child development.

Identifying an Optimal Mindfulness Intervention for Pregnant Women: A feasibility and acceptability study

UCI IRB HS#2021-6552

The purpose of this research study is to compare the effectiveness of two 8-week standardized mindfulness courses; mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindful self-compassion (MSC), on maternal psychological and metabolic health (glucose, insulin, inflammation) in pregnancy. We would also like to learn more about mothers’ experiences of participating in these mindfulness courses and whether they found them to be beneficial, practical or time consuming. This is a pilot study that will help us to determine the optimal approach for prenatal mindfulness training in future studies.  

Each mindfulness course will take 2-2.5 hour virtual sessions per week over 8 weeks and each participant will be assigned to only one course (MBSR or MSC). Participants will also be asked to complete online surveys about their psychological and physical health, provide two fasting blood samples, and give feedback to the researchers about their experience of the mindfulness course at the end of the study.

Eligibility criteria include: 

• age greater than or equal to 18 years
• pregnant with one baby
• 14-27 weeks gestation at enrollment
• fluent in English
• internet access
• willing to commit to the full mindfulness course

Participants will receive $75 compensation for their time and effort throughout the study as well as the course registration free of charge ($475 value). 

For additional information on participation in this study, visit our Contact Page.

Details regarding this project can be found here.