# Mindfulness, Optimism and Resilience for Perinatal Health and Equity (MORPHE) Trial

> **NIH NIH P20** · MIRIAM HOSPITAL · 2024 · $170,521

## Abstract

Traumatic birth experience (TBE) is an underappreciated risk for postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder 
(p-PTSD), depression and anxiety, which contribute to significant social, medical, and economic burden. Both 
TBE and postpartum psychopathology are disproportionately experienced by underserved and minoritized 
populations, further widening the known gap in maternal health outcomes. We urgently need innovative, 
wholistic, strengths-based approaches to care for pregnant people with clear mechanisms of impact. 
Dispositional optimism (DO) is a resilience factor by which we can move the needle on maternal health, and 
has been associated with wide-ranging mental health benefits, including prevention and treatment of PTSD 
in non-pregnant populations. Mindfulness interventions show promise in improving DO and thus may be a 
transdiagnostic approach to bolstering resilience and positively impact health and health equity. However, 
this approach has not been utilized in a perinatal population. 
In this project, we propose a randomized clinical trial comparing use of an existing, equity-focused, perinatal 
mindfulness phone application (Expectful) to routine care for pregnant individuals with low DO. 100 
participants will be randomized in order to assess 1) feasibility and acceptability of the digital mindfulness 
intervention, 2) impact of Expectful on DO, TBE and p-PTSD, and 3) explore perspectives on the role of 
optimism and other resilience mechanisms in pregnancy experience and outcomes. 
Results from this trial will support a planned type II hybrid implementation-effectiveness randomized trial to 
reduce TBE and p-PTSD, and reduce health disparities via improvements in DO.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10928187
- **Project number:** 5P20GM139767-04
- **Recipient organization:** MIRIAM HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Nina Karlsen Ayala
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $170,521
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10928187

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10928187, Mindfulness, Optimism and Resilience for Perinatal Health and Equity (MORPHE) Trial (5P20GM139767-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10928187. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*