the role of mindfulness in maternal mental health: a multi-method investigation
abstract
the purpose of the current series of 3 investigations was to determine if mindfulness is a skill
that may protect women’s mental health and wellbeing during pregnancy and the postpartum
period. study 1 was a canada-wide cross-sectional investigation of 481 pregnant and 498
postpartum women. study 2 was a longitudinal follow-up of 150 pregnant women who
participated in study 1. study 3 was a randomized-control trial of a community sample of 29
pregnant participants who were randomly assigned to either a brief mindfulness group (mg) or
a comparison group (cg). participants in all 3 studies completed questionnaires assessing
various mental health symptoms, wellbeing variables, and mindfulness engagement. in study 3,
participants also provided feedback on their program experience. in both study 1 and 2, a
negative association was observed between mindfulness engagement and several measures of
mental health (stress, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms) and difficulties
in mother-infant bonding, with moderate to large effect sizes. as well, a positive association was
observed between mindfulness engagement and measures of wellbeing (resiliency and quality of
life), as well as a measure of mania (study 1 only). in study 3, the results did not reveal
statistically significant group differences on the mental health or wellbeing measures. however,
it was found that both the mg and cg were well received by participants and that subjective
impressions by participants in both groups were that the groups were beneficial for their
wellbeing. combined, the results suggest that mindfulness may protect pregnant and postpartum
women’s mental health and wellbeing. future research might examine the potential benefits of a
lengthier perinatal mindfulness program in cultivating mindfulness skills and to better determine
if an extended program may be helpful as a pro-active supportive intervention to protect maternal
mental health and wellbeing during pregnancy and the postpartum period