CBT-I Reduces Post-Partum Insomnia, Anxiety, and Depression.

A recent study in the journal Sleep evaluated the effects of online CBT-I delivered during pregnancy on subjective sleep outcomes, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms postpartum. The study involved over 200 hundred women up to 28 weeks gestation with insomnia who were randomized to 6 weekly sessions of CBT-I or standard care, then were followed up at 3 and 6 months postpartum.

The results indicated that CBT-I participants experienced higher rates of insomnia remission and lower rates of insomnia at postpartum. CBT-I participants also experienced greater improvements in depressive and anxiety symptom severity from baseline to postpartum.

These findings suggest that CBT-I use during pregnancy leads to enduring benefits for postpartum insomnia remission and that CBT-I may prevent postpartum depression and anxiety.