Mindful Pregnancy: Meditation, Yoga, Hypnobirthing, Natural Remedies, and Nutrition – Trimester by Trimester

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Mindfulness is a helpful tool during every stage of pregnancy. Use it as a safe haven and coping mechanism when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. If you make it a habit, it can help release tension and reduce discomfort during labor. Significantly more self-efficacy, more positive expectations of their births and less fearful of giving birth after completing the programme. Depression was measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D [ 50]) at T1-T4. Participants rated their experience of various depression symptoms over the past week on the widely-used, 20-item self-report measure using a scale from 0 (“ Rarely or none of the time”) to 3 (“ Most or all of the time”). A score of ≥16 is used to indicate clinical levels of depression. The analyses in the current study utilize CES-D scores from baseline through one-year post-birth ( α = .80 to .89). Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory – trait

Andersson L, Sundström-Poromaa I, Wulff M, Aström M, Bixo M. Depression and anxiety during pregnancy and six months postpartum: a follow-up study. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2006;85(8):937–44. Mindfulness techniques are not just for labour – they should also become part of our daily life afterwards. Mindfulness can be extremely useful in the more frustrating moments of dealing with children, like dealing calmly and staying balanced in the middle of a child’s tantrum. It helps us handle stress better and become more resilient. Just as in those rest periods between contractions, we can develop the ability to find quiet breaks in our work. Mindfulness is about being more ‘present’ with your child, being mindful even during the most mundane tasks, but we shouldn’t be critical of ourself when we slip up – that defeats the object!Other good times to be mindful include while eating, brushing your teeth, drinking water and taking a walk. These activities will help you prevent issues like ptyalism, high blood pressure and even miscarriage. You can easily incorporate mindfulness into a busy schedule when practicing it alongside your regular activities. Let the baby be your guide During the intense, later stages of labour, mindfulness meditation helps us to notice and even enjoy, the time between contractions, instead of merely concentrating on the pain and staying in the contraction in our minds through the rest period, which can totally wear us out! 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). Mindfulness was measured by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ [ 53]) at T1. The FFMQ is a 39-item measure that assesses five dimensions of mindfulness identified through a factor analysis of existing mindfulness scales, which include observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience. Items are rated on a scale from 1 (“ Never or very rarely true”) to 5 (“ Very often or always true”) and were averaged to obtain a total mindfulness score ( α = .88); to test proposed moderated effects, only the baseline (T1) score was used in analyses. Data analysis plan Online intervention involving a gratitude diary component and a mindfulness listening component 4 times a week for 3 consecutive weeks. Participants randomised to a body scan and reflection intervention ( n=32) or to usual care ( n=14).

Allow the mindful practise to adapt with the baby – inevitably what was a 2-hour daily yoga and meditation practise in pregnancy could end up as 10 minutes of meditation whilst baby naps, 10 minutes of stretching whilst holding it and 10 minutes of breath awareness whilst nursing or feeding. It could be a while before we can return to the regular routine, but just taking time for moments of practise everyday will make a vast difference to our energy level, our patience, and ability to engage positively and mindfully with the child and others.

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Those in MIL with very low initial levels of anxiety showed ending distress that was similar to that of higher anxiety MIL participants, which represented higher ending distress compared to their TAU counterparts with initial low anxiety. This pattern may reflect the increased awareness that comes with beginning engagement with mindfulness practice. That is, individuals who are living on autopilot may simply not be aware of much of their internal experience and report lower symptoms. Being guided into greater awareness of what is going on with oneself somatically, and with one’s thoughts and emotions, may in itself bring about more reporting of symptoms for those who had little awareness prior to an MBI. It is possible that a longer period of follow up—particularly with those who continue in their mindfulness practice—would show an increase in wellbeing and lower symptoms following this initial dip. That is, the benefits of mindfulness practice for child-bearers who start with negligible symptoms may require a longer time scale of sustained practice to observe, and future research should examine this longer term trajectory. While it’s true that having a healthy baby is the most important thing, ignoring or burying your emotional response will make it more challenging to bond with your new arrival. If you’re hit with a less than desirable change, see if you can give yourself a moment to experience whatever you may be feeling due to the adjustment. Sit. Breathe. Then maybe let it go. In fact, recent studies suggest there are great health benefits to practicing yoga during pregnancy, including reducing anxiety and stress in mothers, as well as a reduction in the pain of labour. af-form-298505444 button,#af-form-298505444 input,#af-form-298505444 submit,#af-form-298505444 textarea,#af-form-298505444 select,#af-form-298505444 label,#af-form-298505444 optgroup,#af-form-298505444 option{float:none;position:static;margin:0;} Hofmann SG, Gómez AF. Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression. Psychiatr Clin North America. 2017;40(4):739–49.

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. pregnant women participating in MBCP during their 3rd trimester of pregnancy (12–28weeks gestation) 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). Pregnancy and childbirth are some of the most significant, exciting and scary experiences that a woman will experience in her lifetime. The experiences and mental health of the woman during pregnancy and throughout the post-pregnancy period are of utmost importance for the well-being of both the mother and her child. Depression or anxiety in pregnancy has been associated with an increase in obstetric complications including stillbirth, low birth weight infants, postnatal specialist care for the infant and susceptibility to more adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes including behavioural, emotional and cognitive problems (Bonari et al. 2004; Glover 2011; Talge et al. 2007). Anxiety and stress during pregnancy have been linked with premature delivery, low birth weight, and neonatal morbidity and mortality (Dole 2003; Maina et al. 2008).Increased risk of future depression – after PPD the risk of further episodes of depression recurring is doubled.

Research has shown that mindfulness helps sufferers of chronic pain, including many who have found no pain relief through medication and the pain in pregnancy and childbirth presents similar problems. Anxiety was measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Trait (STAIT [ 51]) at T1-T4. The scale prompted participants to rate “how you generally feel” for 20 anxiety symptoms on a scale from 1 (“ Almost never”) to 4 (“ Almost always”). A score of ≥40 is used to indicate clinical levels of trait anxiety. The data from pre-intervention through one-year postpartum reflected good internal consistency ( α = .90 to .95). Perceived stress scale Lupien SJ, McEwen BS, Gunnar MR, Heim C. Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009;10(6):434–45. At the post intervention (3rd trimester) assessment, women participating in the mindfulness group showed statistically significant decreases in state anxiety ( p<0.05) and negative affect ( p<0.04) compared with wait-list. Women participating in the mindfulness group that showed statistically significant changes in the expected direction were observed in the intervention group on all other variables. While changes in mindfulness increased somewhat from 5 to 9% at 3-month follow-up, between-group changes remained non-significant ( p=0.07).Significantly larger decrease in PSA scores in the mindfulness group ( p<0.05) than in the control group ( p<0.05). Significant decrease in PSA from baseline to 6-week follow-up in both the intervention group ( p<0.05) and in the control group ( p<0.05), with no significant difference between the 2 groups. Marginally significant group × time interaction in the model predicting change in PRA scores over time, p=0.07. Post hoc analyses showed a significant decrease in PRA scores in the mindfulness group ( p<0.05) but not in the control group) between time 0 and time 1. However, these effects were not sustained through time 2 assessment; PRA significantly decreased in both the intervention ( p<0.05) and control groups ( p<0.05) from baseline to 6-week follow-up. No significant group × time interactions were found in models predicting change in PSS, STAI or FFMQ (all p<0.10). Significant main effect of time in the FFMQ, p<0.0001, p<.05; STAI p=0.001; and p=.001 models, such that both groups experienced significant decreases in perceived stress and general anxiety and significant increases in mindfulness from time 0 to time 1 and from time 0 to time 2. Typically, mindfulness exercises are taught and honed during pregnancy for use during labour and delivery,” says midwife Alexandrea Garbus. Teasdale JD, Segal ZV, Williams JMG, Ridgeway VA, Soulsby JM, Lau MA. Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000;68(4):615–23. Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., Walsh, E., Duggan, D., & Williams, J. M. G. (2008). Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329–342. Be a supportive partner – watching the birth is one of life’s greatest, enriching moments and a supportive partner is an important, relaxing and calming resource for the mother. This is why it is better for the partners to attend all the classes and appointments etc where possible. It is an important time to bond with our partner and baby and the stronger the relationship before the birth, the more positive the support will be in labour.