Venue: John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
When: Wednesday Evenings 6 – 9 pm for nine weeks, from February 29th until 2nd May 2012 (no group Wednesday 4th April – Easter)
Often one of the greatest challenges of childbirth is learning how to work with pain and anxiety. Learning how to use our minds to work with these challenges can make a huge difference in labour and birth experiences. Mindfulness meditation is increasingly being used as way of managing pain, reducing stress and anxiety and has the potential for parents preparing for childbirth to reduce the risk of postpartum depression and increase ‘availability’ of attention for their baby. The Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) programme is an opportunity for cultivating present moment awareness as a powerful way to prepare to give birth.
There are places for approximately 12 couples from the Oxford area to participate on this programme. It will be facilitated by Dr Maret Dymond, a Clinical Psychologist, an experienced mindfulness teacher and co-facilitated by Dr Sian Warriner, a Consultant Midwife at the John Radcliffe Hospital who is currently training to teach mindfulness to expectant parents.
The skills taught in the workshop are based upon mind-body meditation practices. A pilot study in the USA into Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting showed significant increases in positive emotions and mindfulness and decreases in pregnancy anxiety, depression and negative emotions in pregnant women who undertook the nine week MBCP programme.
The MBCP programme aims are to provide an introduction to mindfulness meditation practice as a way of:
- Learning how to work with stress, pain & fear during childbirth
- Developing skills for managing pain, stress, anxiety and other difficult emotions during the transition to parenthood and everyday life
- Developing confidence in your ability to cope with labour, childbirth & parenting
- Providing information on positions for labour, breastfeeding, the postnatal period and the social and emotional needs of the newborn
- Becoming part of a community of new parents
- Reducing the risk of postpartum depression and increasing availability of your attention for your baby
- Accessing deep physical and mental relaxation
- Enhancing partner communication skills
- Becoming more aware of our own approach to parenting
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