Participant experiences of mindfulness-based childbirth education: a qualitative study

Abstract

BackgroundChildbirth is an important transitional life event, but one in which many women are dissatisfied stemming in part from a sense that labour is something that happens to them rather than with them. Promoting maternal satisfaction with childbirth means equipping women with communication and decision making skills that will enhance their ability to feel involved in their labour. Additionally, traditional antenatal education does not necessarily prepare expectant mothers and their birth support partner adequately for birth. Mindfulness-based interventions appear to hold promise in addressing these issues. Mindfulness-based Child Birth Education (MBCE) was a pilot intervention combining skills-based antenatal education and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Participant experiences of MBCE, both of expectant mothers and their birth support partners are the focus of this article.MethodsA generic qualitative approach was utilised for this study. Pregnant women between 18 and 28 weeks gestation, over 18 years of age, nulliparous with singleton pregnancies and not taking medication for a diagnosed mental illness or taking illicit drugs were eligible to undertake the MBCE program which was run in a metropolitan city in Australia. Focus groups with 12 mothers and seven birth support partners were undertaken approximately four months after the completion of MBCE. Audio recordings of the groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using the method of constant comparison by all four authors independently and consensus on analysis and interpretation arrived at through team meetings.ResultsA sense of both ‘empowerment’ and ‘community’ were the essences of the experiences of MBCE both for mothers and their birth support partner and permeated the themes of ‘awakening my existing potential’ and ‘being in a community of like-minded parents’. Participants suggested that mindfulness techniques learned during MBCE facilitated their sense of control during birth, and the content and pedagogical approach of MBCE enabled them to be involved in decision making during the birth. The pedagogical approach also fostered a sense of community among participants which extended into the postnatal period.ConclusionsMBCE has the potential to empower women to become active participants in the birthing process, thus addressing common concerns regarding lack of control and satisfaction with labour and facilitate peer support into the postnatal period. Further education of health professionals may be needed to ensure that they respond positively to those women and birth support partners who remain active in decision making during birth.

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 relationship between childbirth self-efficacy and aspects of well-being, birth interventions and birth outcomes

“…Perhaps this knowledge could be picked up and be used by antenatal educators? Strengthening the woman's own capacity can also be achieved by reducing stress reactions during pregnancy as has been suggested by Fisher et al (2012). In this qualitative study the researchers tried to reduce physical reactions and minimise stress by using mindfulness training.…”

“…In this qualitative study the researchers tried to reduce physical reactions and minimise stress by using mindfulness training. Fisher et al (2012) reported that mindfulness training made the women 'awakened of their existing potential, competence and ability'. We can thus assume that the intervention increased the women's self-efficacy but this was not measured as it was a qualitative study.…”

Perceptions and experiences of pregnant Chinese women in Hong Kong on prenatal meditation: A qualitative study

“…Most of these researches are quantitative but qualitative studies are important for a broadened perspective on practice and research. [3,11,28,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] The author has developed an Eastern based meditative intervention (EBMI) for pregnant Chinese women in Hong Kong. [15] The characteristic of EBMI is that through "self" meditative practice; pregnant women can have right awareness, change their mental process, train and transform their mind.…”