Does mindfulness provide additional strategies to prepare for pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood? An assessment by obstetric professionals

Goal: A growing body of evidence showing the adverse effects of prenatal stress on maternal and fetal health combined with growing numbers of women either afraid of giving birth or suffering the long-term effects of traumatic birth, call for new strategies of childbirth-preparation.

Methods and Materials: In a pilotstudy 52 obstetric professionals consisting of 47 midwives, 2 doctors, 1 nurse and 2 trained birthattenders, attended a 2-day compressed Mind-in-Labor-programme, a course-programme for expecting parents, combining mindfulness skills with childbirth- and psycho-education.

With a questionnaire quantitave data were obtained judging the value of mindfulness in obstetric practice, using a 5-point-Likertscale. Additional qualitative data were obtained researching the value of specific aspects of the training.

Results:

Tab. 1: Overview obtained quantitave data

Statement	Mean Score	Maximal Score	Minimal Score
I would recommend this course for pregnant women	4,54	5	2
I would recommend pregnant women to follow this course with their partner	4,71	5	3
This course provides tools to use mindfulness while caring for women in labor	4,33	5	2
This course shows how mindfulness can be applied during pregnancy and labor	4,48	5	1

The qualitative data revealed the value of personally experiencing how mindfulness provides a metacognitive way of dealing with issues of control, fear and pain, both physical and emotional, both for pregnant couples, as for professionals themselves. It might attend to a common human need for coping-strategies in stressful situations.

Discussion: The vulnerable perinatal period asks for methods that alleviates fear of birth for expectant parents and reduces the trend of unnecessary medical interventions. Obstetric professionals view mindfulness as a promising tool.