Previous studies have revealed that poor labour delivery outcomes have been linked to the rise of depression in first time mothers.

Why use Mindfulness at Childbirth?

A recent study has highlighted the positive effect of using mindfulness skills for improving the experience of childbirth and reducing depressive symptoms in first time mothers.

Larissa Duncan, one of the lead researchers of the University of Wisconsin –Madison, argues ‘Fear of the unknown affects us all and perhaps none more so than pregnant women’. Within the study women who had used mindfulness skills reported improved mental wellbeing and a better experience of labour.

The Research

Researchers at the University Wisconsin – Madison and the Universities of California and San Francisco, conducted a randomised control study. The study consisted of thirty participants in total, comparing participants’ experiences of childbirth depending on which workshop they chose. All participants were offered a workshop class of ‘standard preparation of childbirth education with lacked focus on mindfulness’ or ‘an intense course of mindfulness focusing on the mind and the body’.

The researchers found less depressive symptoms reported within the mindfulness group, which continued through the postpartum period six weeks later. They also revealed that the first-time mothers who attended the mindfulness classes reported feeling better and had an improved childbirth experience. This was in comparison to the standard preparation group in which depressive symptoms worsened. They also found evidence of how mindfulness is able to improve fathers’ experiences of childbirth and the experience of becoming a parent.

These results highlight the possible significance of mindfulness skills addressing the feared pain of labour, improving first-time mothers experience of childbirth and reducing the likeliness of developing depressive symptoms after the pregnancy.