Mindfulness during the perinatal period
Amber Sedgfield
Warwick Research Archive Portal September 13, 2026 DOI: 10.82444/warw.33709270 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Mixed methods systematic review and qualitative study (thesis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Mothers and fathers who attended the Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting programme, interviewed one year later; plus 14 published studies in the systematic review |
| Interventions | Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Interventions (MABIs) Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting programme (MBCP) |
| Duration | One year following attendance on the MBCP (for the qualitative interviews); duration of MABIs in reviewed studies not stated |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The systematic review of 14 studies suggests that Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Interventions may reduce anxiety, pregnancy anxiety, and stress and increase self-efficacy and mindfulness in mothers, though findings are tentative. The qualitative interviews with ten parents yielded two themes, 'Getting closer to really living' and 'Greater connectedness and attunement', describing experiences of mindfulness during parenting. |
Abstract
It is well documented that the perinatal period (the time from pregnancy until the first year of a child’s life) is a crucial window of opportunity for foetal and infant development. Evidence suggests that parental psychopathology can have harmful consequences for the parent-infant relationship, parents’ relationship, infant’s development and later mental-health into adulthood. The focus of this thesis will be on exploring mindfulness as one possible non-pharmacological intervention that could benefit parents’ emotional well-being during the perinatal period. Chapter one contains a mixed methods systematic review of 14 published studies of Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Interventions (MABIs) during the perinatal period, for mothers experiencing anxiety and stress. The synthesis of quantitative and qualitative results were integrated and demonstrated tentative findings that MABIs can reduce anxiety, pregnancy anxiety and stress for mothers, whilst increasing self-efficacy and mindfulness. Qualitative themes discussed propose possible explanations for these findings. Methodological limitations are discussed in line with implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research. Chapter two explores mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of mindfulness during parenting, one year following their attendance on the Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting programme (MBCP). Ten semi-structured interviews gathered rich, in-depth, idiosyncratic accounts which were subject to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Two superordinate themes emerged from the data, ‘Getting closer to really living’ and ‘Greater connectedness and attunement’. Finally, Chapter 3 provides a reflective account of the author’s lived experience of the parallels between her own research journey and personal experience of becoming a mother. It addresses the author’s epistemological position and the researcher’s influence on the research process.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |