Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York tested the effectiveness of a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis (CBTH) to ameliorate radiotherapy-related fatigue.

Women (n = 42) scheduled for breast cancer radiotherapy were randomly assigned to receive standard medical care (SMC) (n = 20) or a CBTH intervention (n = 22) in addition to standard medical care.
 
Participants assigned to receive CBTH met individually with a clinical psychologist, receiving training in hypnosis and CBT. Participants assigned to the SMC control condition did not meet with a study psychologist.

Researchers from University Hospital Basel in Switzerland compared the immediate effects of brief guided imagery and relaxation exercises - two active and one passive 10-min relaxation technique - on prenatal stress in a randomized, controlled trial with 39 healthy pregnant women.

Subjects were assigned to one of two active relaxation techniques, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) or guided imagery (GI), or a passive relaxation control condition. 

Measures were self-reported relaxation on a visual analogue scale (VAS); the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S); scores on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (cortisol and ACTH); and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity (norepinephrine and epinephrine). Additionally, measures were taken of cardiovascular responses, such as heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure.  Scores were measured at four points before and after the relaxation exercise.

 

Hot damn, I knew this was true.  My guess is, it’s even more true for women in childbirth.  But I digress.  Researchers from Women's & Children's Hospital in Adelaide, Australia investigated whether there was a difference in hypnotizability between pregnant and nonpregnant women.  (Hypnosis during pregnancy and childbirth has been shown to reduce the use of pain medication during labor and other medical interventions.)

Study participants had hypnotizability measured by the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) in the third trimester of pregnancy and subsequently between 14 and 28 months postpartum and again, further beyond that.

Researchers from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in Bangalore, India studied the effect of integrated yoga practice and guided relaxation on both perceived stress and measured autonomic response in healthy pregnant women.

The 122 healthy women in the study were recruited between the 18th and 20th week of pregnancy at prenatal clinics in Bangalore, India, and were randomized to practicing yoga and deep relaxation or standard prenatal exercises 1-hour daily. Forty-five participants in each group completed the study, and were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada reviewed the literature to investigate whether Eastern techniques, such as mindfulness, acupuncture or yoga might be used to improve unsatisfying sexual experiences in women (problems with desire, arousal or orgasm).

The search revealed only two empirical studies of mindfulness, two of acupuncture, and one of yoga in the treatment of sexual dysfunction.  These limited results revealed that mindfulness significantly improved several aspects of sexual response and reduced sexual distress in women with sexual desire and arousal disorders. 

 We got this enthusiastic email about using guided imagery for a hysterectomy a while back:

"I was told about the Successful Surgery CD by an acquaintance and decided to try it before my surgery.

When I was in my 20's I learned self-hypnosis to alleviate my fear and it was invaluable during the labor of my first child. I wish I would have continued practicing it, but once used, I put it aside.

Researchers from the Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University of Chicago, used a non-randomized, controlled design to evaluate the effect and feasibility of a mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) program on immune function, quality of life (QOL), and coping in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

Early stage breast cancer patients, who did not receive chemotherapy, self-selected into an 8-week MBSR program or into an assessment-only control group. Outcomes were evaluated over time. The first assessment was at least 10 days after surgery and prior to adjuvant therapy, as well as before the MBSR start-up. Further assessments were mid-MBSR, at completion of MBSR, and at 4-week post-MBSR completion.