Becoming pregnant is a beautiful moment in any person's life, but we understand that it can be challenging to keep your body nurtured and supported throughout this journey. Don't worry, DK has got you covered!

Baker KK, Story WT, Walser-Kuntz E, Zimmerman MB. Baker KK, et al. PLoS One. 2018 Oct 8;13(10):e0205345. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205345. eCollection 2018. PLoS One. 2018. PMID: 30296283 Free PMC article. The Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Program (MBCP) has been created to serve those going through this transformation and who then continue to work at one of the most important, joyous, and stressful jobs on the planet, that of nurturing and caring for the next generation. We're glad you're here!

Williams KA, Kolar MM, Reger BE, Pearson JC. Evaluation of a wellness-based mindfulness stress reduction intervention: a controlled trial. Am J Health Promot. 2001;15(6):422–32. Emilie Raguso reports on a new program applying mindfulness meditation to childbirth and parenting. Could it lead to healthier babies?

Rallis S, Skouteris H, McCabe M, Milgrom J. A prospective examination of depression, anxiety and stress throughout pregnancy. Women Birth. 2014;27(4):e36–42.Gu J, Strauss C, Bond R, Cavanagh K. How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2015;37:1–12.

All study procedures were approved by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Committee for Human Research (institutional review board), and signed informed consent was obtained from all participants. Participants were randomized to either MIL ( n = 15) or TAU ( n = 15) using a pre-programmed computer database. Self-report measures were completed online at four time points: time 1 (T1) was the third trimester baseline (immediately pre-intervention and pre-randomization), time 2 (T2) was the week immediately following the intervention (post-intervention but prior to birth), time 3 (T3) was the postpartum follow-up (approximately 6 weeks post-birth), and time 4 (T4) was 1 to 2 years post-birth. Due to the timing of received project funding for long-term follow-up, T4 assessment timing varied such that earlier cohorts completed T4 up to 2 years post-birth while later cohorts completed T4 at 1 year post-birth. Participants completed the T4 assessment on average 1.79 years post-birth ( M = 93.08 weeks, SD = 0.17 years, range = 1.47–2.20 years. All eligibility screening and assessment was conducted through an online survey software (see [ 33] for further details of compensation and time period of data collection). The current study was submitted in fulfillment of the first author’s master’s thesis (see [ 49]). Interventions Mind in labor (MIL): working with pain in childbirth session groups were delivered consistent with the standard MBCT treatment manual, with modifications for the perinatal period. The standard MBCT programme includes psychoeducation and training in cognitive behavioural and mindfulness meditation practices designed to prevent depressive relapse/recurrence and promote wellness. Specifically, participants learn formal mindfulness practices (i.e. sitting and walking meditation, body scan and yoga stretching), informal mindfulness practices (i.e. mindfulness of daily activities and the 3-min breathing space) and cognitive behavioural skills (i.e. monitoring pleasant and unpleasant events, identifying thoughts and beliefs and their relationship to emotion, identifying relapse signs and developing action plans). Modifications for perinatal depression focused primarily on increased attention to brief informal mindfulness practices (e.g. washing dishes and driving), mindfulness and yoga practices customised for the perinatal period (e.g. “being with baby” informal practice and prenatal yoga poses), psychoeducation about perinatal depression and transition to parenthood and self-compassion, self-care and social support. Audio-recorded files were provided each week to guide mindfulness meditation practices at home (recorded for the study by an expert meditation teacher) and a DVD was provided to guide yoga practice (recorded for the study by an expert perinatal yoga teacher). Significant decrease in stress ( p=0.05). Trait anxiety decreased significantly post intervention ( p=0.03). Time-by-group effect—overall BPI scale ( p=0.04), pain interference subscale ( p=0.04). 2nd-trimester women had significantly lower BPI scores ( p=0.02) after the intervention and less pain interference after intervention ( p=0.05) compared with 3rd-trimester group. Pain intensity remained higher after the intervention for 3rd-trimester women compared with 2nd-trimester women ( p=0.01). After the intervention, the 3rd-trimester group still reported significantly more hours of pain than 2nd-trimester women ( p=0.05). Average morning salivary cortisol level increased from baseline ( p<0.01). Khoury B, Lecomte T, Fortin G, Masse M, Therien P, Bouchard V, Chapleau M-A, Paquin K, Hofmann SG. Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev. 2013;33(6):763–71.Garland E, Gaylord S, Park J. The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. EXPLORE. 2009;5(1):37–44. Hofmann SG, Sawyer AT, Witt AA, Oh D. The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: a meta-analytic review. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010;78(2):169–83.

Shapiro S, Weisbaum E. History of mindfulness and psychology. In Mindfulness. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. 2020. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.678 Significant decrease in depressive symptom levels ( p=0.0037) sustained throughout the perinatal period, with on-average reduction in EPDS scores relative to baseline of 2.02 (SE=0.813) during pregnancy and postpartum ( p=0.013). Mind My Bump is a UK-based company, founded by mindfulness teacher, Chartered Clinical Psychologist and mum, Dr Leah Callebaut. First a baseline multilevel model containing no explanatory predictors was fit to describe child-bearers’ distress trajectories across pregnancy and postpartum follow-up. Although the linear slope was not significant, indicating that distress levels did not consistently change over time in the sample as a whole, significant between-person variability in both intercepts (χ 2[27] = 91.86, p< .001) and slopes (χ 2[27] = 45.23, p = .015) suggested heterogeneity in course of distress. That is, some child-bearers experienced increasing distress and others decreasing distress from the third trimester pregnancy through 12- to 24-months postpartum, supporting the addition of predictors to explain differences in child-bearers’ distress slopes and ending levels (intercepts).Wondering how you can incorporate some of those benefits into your own pregnancy? Here are her five tips for having a mindful pregnancy and early parenthood from Aimee Karr, who teaches yoga and meditation for pregnancy at her studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Guardino CM, Dunkel Schetter C, Bower JE, Lu MC, Smalley SL. Randomized controlled pilot trial of mindfulness training for stress reduction during pregnancy. Psychology & Health. 2014;29(3):334-349. doi:10.1080/08870446.2013.852670 Significant differences were observed between the groups for the variable general health in the quality of life tool ( p=0.036). Significant differences between the groups were observed for depression ( p=0.0001) and perceived stress ( p=0.0001) in favour of the mindfulness intervention. Dunn, C., Hanieh, E., Roberts, R. et al. Mindful pregnancy and childbirth: effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on women’s psychological distress and well-being in the perinatal period. Arch Women's Ment Health (2012);15, 139–143. doi:10.1007/s00737-012-0264-4 Significantly more self-efficacy, more positive expectations of their births and less fearful of giving birth after completing the programme.