Development and Effects of a Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation Program to Improve Maternal-Fetal Attachment

A loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) program for pregnant women improved maternal-fetal attachment, positive emotion, mindfulness, and positive fetal movement experience more than yoga or no treatment, with gains lasting at least one month after the program ended.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: The psychological health of a pregnant woman and a healthy fetal relationship are important for perinatal adaptation. This study aimed to develop loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM), which are known to be effective for improving interpersonal relationships and to verify its effectiveness in order to promote maternal-fetal attachment (MFA). Methods: We developed an LKCM curriculum and training program for pregnant women and assessed its efficacy for improving MFA, positive emotion, mindfulness, and positive fetal movement experience (PFME) through a pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up comparison with a yoga comparison group and an untreated control group. Results: The LKCM experimental group showed significantly improved MFA, positive emotion, mindfulness, and PFME than did the other groups at post-intervention and follow-up. Conclusions: Overall, this study confirmed that LKCM interventions can promote MFA, positive emotions, mindfulness, and PFME. Thus, it is meaningful that this study served to foster beneficial psychological resources compared to numerous studies aiming to improve deficits experienced by pregnant women. Additionally, this is the first full-scale study to develop a program based on specialized LKCM to enhance MFA during pregnancy and verify its efficacy.