The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Training on Pregnancy Stress

Abstract

. Pregnancy stress is frequently associated with postpartum depression, increased post-partum partner conflicts, and poor quality of mother-infant attachment. Meanwhile, the impacts of pregnancy stress on infants are often related with premature birth, behavioral and emotional developmental problems, and negative influences on the cognitive abilities of children. Therefore, pregnant women need support from internal resources, such as self-awareness and emotional regulation to promote a more positive psychological condition. Many studies showed that mindfulness-based interventions can relieve stress and depression, improve psychological well-being, and promote positive emotions. This study was designed as quasi experimental research to test the effectiveness of mindfulness training on pregnancy stress among pregnant women. Five participants were selected incidentally with average age of 27 years old. Most of them were experiencing their first pregnancy at 25 to 26 weeks of pregnancy. The participants joined one-day mindfulness training. Subsequently, they were asked to practice mindfulness exercises for a week at home. Pregnancy stress was measured by the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS) which consisted of Negative Affect (NA) and Partner Involvement (PI) subscales. It was taken in the pre-training, post training and follow-up session. The results showed that there were no significant decrease in pregnancy stress during post training (t TPDS = 2.07, NA = 2.25, PI = 1.24, p> 0.05) and follow-up training (t of TPDS = 0.94, NA = 1.73, PI = 0.55, p> 0.05). Further researches need to be conducted with more gradual methods and sessions, and involve more varied and larger sample sizes.

Measuring Mindfulness in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) in Indonesian

“…Recent studies in Indonesia have introduced mindfulness practice into a specific population. An MBI program for pregnant women experiencing stress (Febriani et al, 2018) has shown that the treatment group experienced less pregnancy stress than the control group after the mindfulness-based intervention. The participant claimed that they felt more at ease during labor because they had a better understanding and awareness of the birth process.…”