Cognitive behavioural therapy-based interventions on stress outcomes in pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Stress symptoms were the most common psychological problem in pregnancy. Cognitive behavioural therapy-based interventions are effective for antenatal depression and anxiety symptoms; but there are fewer studies for stress symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The review aims to (1) examine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy-based interventions in reducing stress outcomes (pregnancy-specific stress symptoms, generic symptoms, and objective stress) in pregnant women, and (2) identify significant moderators affecting the effectiveness of the intervention. DESIGN: Systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression analysis of randomised controlled trials. METHODS: We conducted a three-step search (12 databases, 4 clinical registries, and citation searches) in English and Chinese up to July 24, 2025, by two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses were performed using the R software. Quality assessment and certainty of the evidence were assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool version 2 and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's test. RESULTS: We included 20 randomised controlled trials involving a total of 6966 pregnant women from nine countries. Random-effects meta-analyses found that interventions significantly alleviated pregnancy-specific stress symptoms (Hedges' g&#xa0;=&#xa0;-0.84, 95% Confidence Interval, CI -1.42, -0.26, p&#xa0;<&#xa0;.01, I2&#xa0;=&#xa0;92.3%), reduced generic stress symptoms (g&#xa0;=&#xa0;-0.64, 95% CI -1.09, -0.20, p&#xa0;<&#xa0;.01, I2&#xa0;=&#xa0;87.4%) with median and large effect sizes at post-intervention. No effect was found in lowering cortisol levels (g&#xa0;=&#xa0;-0.99, 95% CI -2.58, -0.60, p&#xa0;=&#xa0;.12, I2&#xa0;=&#xa0;84%) at post-intervention. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses indicated that region, age of participants, use of intention-to-treat, missing data management analyses, frequency, modalities, and approaches of interventions, use of different comparators, and attrition rate were significant factors affecting the effectiveness of interventions. Subgroup analyses suggested that the intensity of intervention should be more than once per week using a blended mode among Asian populations. Multivariate meta-regression analyses indicated that both younger age (&#x3b2;&#xa0;=&#xa0;0.13, p&#xa0;=&#xa0;.02) and a lower attrition rate (&#x3b2;&#xa0;=&#xa0;0.03, p&#xa0;=&#xa0;.03) significantly improved the effectiveness of interventions. The overall certainty of the evidence was rated as either very low or low. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive behavioural therapy-based interventions can supplement antenatal care to alleviate pregnancy-specific stress symptoms and generic stress symptoms, particularly in young Asian women. However, the evidence has some uncertainties. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to substantial heterogeneity. Well-designed trials on a large-scale with long-term follow-ups were needed. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration ID: CRD420251115913.