J Midwifery Womens Health. 2018 Jul;63(4):462-469. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12734. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
The postpartum period can be a challenging experience for many women as they adjust to the physical and social changes after childbirth. Mindfulness-based interventions have been developed for stress reduction in a variety of health contexts, including pregnancy. These interventions provide strategies that may help new mothers handle the physical, emotional, and relationship challenges of the postpartum period and increase acceptance of postpartum physical changes and body image. Limited research has explored whether women use skills learned in prenatal mindfulness classes for the postpartum experience and parenting. The purpose of this study was to explore women's experience with mindfulness in the year after childbirth.
Twelve women who participated in a Mindfulness for Childbirth and Parenting course during pregnancy were interviewed between 2 and 16 months postpartum. The semistructured interview guide included questions on how participants may have used mindfulness to approach a variety of positive and negative postpartum experiences. Qualitative description methodology guided the research team to code the transcripts independently. The team met to review and achieve consensus in the development of codes, categories, and themes from the data.
Four themes were identified in women's postpartum experiences: 1) developing a new relationship with postpartum challenges, 2) formal practices of mindfulness to address postpartum challenges, 3) informal practices to address postpartum challenges, and 4) life-changing and transformative experiences. These themes showed a pathway by which participants used mindfulness skills to address postpartum challenges and to transform these challenges with a positive perspective.
Mindfulness skills helped class participants cope with physical and emotional challenges postpartum and fostered positive meaningful relationships with partners and newborns. Findings have implications for future research on mindfulness-based interventions and the postpartum experience.
对于许多女性来说，产后阶段可能是一个充满挑战的时期，因为她们需要适应分娩后的身体和社会变化。基于正念的干预措施已经针对各种健康背景下的压力缓解而开发，包括怀孕。这些干预措施提供了一些策略，可能有助于新妈妈应对产后身体、情感和人际关系方面的挑战，增加对产后身体变化和身体形象的接受度。有限的研究探讨了女性是否在产前正念课程中学习到的技能应用于产后体验和育儿。本研究旨在探讨女性在产后一年内的正念体验。
12 名在怀孕期间参加分娩和育儿正念课程的女性在产后 2 至 16 个月期间接受了采访。半结构化访谈指南包括有关参与者如何可能使用正念来处理各种积极和消极的产后体验的问题。定性描述方法指导研究小组独立对转录本进行编码。团队开会审查并在数据中达成共识，制定代码、类别和主题。
在女性的产后经历中确定了四个主题：1）与产后挑战建立新的关系，2）正念的正式实践以应对产后挑战，3）非正式实践以应对产后挑战，4）改变生活和变革性的经历。这些主题展示了参与者使用正念技能来应对产后挑战并以积极的视角转化这些挑战的途径。
正念技能帮助课程参与者应对产后的身体和情绪挑战，并与伴侣和新生儿建立积极的有意义的关系。研究结果对未来基于正念的干预措施和产后体验的研究具有启示意义。
