Effects of an antenatal mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting programme on the postpartum experiences of mothers: a qualitative interview study

Abstract

BackgroundApplications of mindfulness during the perinatal period have recently been explored and appear to offer a decrease in stress, anxiety and depression during this period. However, it still remains unclear what practical use women make of mindfulness during the postpartum period and the mechanisms through which it works. The subjective experience of mindfulness practice by mothers is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to explore how women enrolled in a “Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting programme” experienced mindfulness practice during the postpartum period.MethodsTen pregnant women over 18 years of age with singleton pregnancies, no diagnoses of mental illness and participation in a “Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting programme” were recruited to take part in a postpartum interview. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically based on a phenomenological approach. The transcripts of nine interviews were submitted to a coding process consisting of the identification of words, sentences or paragraphs expressing common ideas. These ideas were classified in codes, each code representing a specific description, function or action (e.g. self-perception, personal organization, formal/informal meditation practice). Progressively, a framework of thematic ideas was extracted from the transcripts, allowing the interviews to be systematically organized and their content analysed in depth.ResultsFive themes emerged from the descriptions of practices of mindfulness during the postpartum period: perception of the present moment, breathing, acceptance, self-compassion and the perception of mindfulness as a shelter.ConclusionMindfulness practices during the postpartum period may contribute to a mother’s psychological wellbeing. The perception of mindfulness as a shelter had not previously been reported. Future research could address whether this role is specific to the postpartum period.

Experiences of Postpartum Women after Mindfulness Childbirth Classes: A Qualitative Study

“…This study adds to the literature that supports the usefulness of mindfulness skills learned during antenatal classes and specifically shows that the perceived benefits continued for these women into the postpartum year. This is consistent with qualitative findings from trials of MBCP and similar interventions [18][19][20][21][22] in which women found that mindfulness helped them maintain a focus on the present during infant care activities, handle the stress of a screaming infant, and increase their acceptance of the many changes of the postpartum period. Although many women in the present study may not have had the time or structure to continue daily formal meditation practices because of their chaotic lives postpartum, they found ways to incorporate mindfulness skills using formal practices on an as-needed basis and develop informal practices specific to their situation.…”

“…17(p207) Participants in trials of MBCP and similar interventions have described, through open-ended questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups conducted one to 2 months postpartum, the early postpartum benefits of what they learned in prenatal mindfulness classes. [18][19][20][21][22] However, it is unknown whether women sustain these benefits beyond one to 2 months postpartum. The purpose of this study was to use indepth interviews to explore women's experiences with mindfulness in postpartum and parenting.…”

The extended nervous system: affect regulation, somatic and social change processes associated with mindful parenting

“…The clarification of these qualitative findings with quantitative studies has the potential to make a significant contribution to the field of mindful parenting. A longitudinal, large scale, multicentre study with vulnerable parents from diverse backgrounds that complete both psychometric assessments of change processes and physiological measures can confirm whether reflective functioning influences all other change processes, including biomarkers such as cortisol, oxytocin and dopamine [59]. It will take a significant investment to move from a small qualitative study to a large scale longitudinal multicentre study.…”

Mindfulness During Pregnancy and Parental Stress in Mothers Raising Toddlers

“…In these studies, the trainings used were adjusted for pregnant women, and were either based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT, Segal et al 2002) in the case of the study by Dunn et al (2012), or based on MBSR and the mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting program (MBCP, Bardacke 2012), in the study by Duncan et al (2017). The interventions had in common that mindfulness meditations as used in the MBSR were used, and this was also the case for the MBCP training that was offered in a qualitative study on the effectiveness of a mindfulness training during pregnancy (Malis et al 2017). In this study, participating mothers were interviewed in the postpartum period.…”

“…In this study, participating mothers were interviewed in the postpartum period. They reported the use of mindfulness abilities (e.g., acceptance and attention to the present moment) as a way of coping with and decreasing the experience of stress, including parenting stress (Malis et al 2017).…”