Mindfulness practices for alleviating distress among postpartum women.
Fernanda Veras Vieira Feitosa, Raimunda Magalhães Da Silva, Waleska Benicio de Oliveira Carvalho, Débora Pereira Paixão, Marta Maria Soares Herculano, Maria Helena Carvalho Valente Presado, Vânia Krisna de Oliveira Albuquerque, Laura Pinto Torres de Melo
Revista brasileira de enfermagem January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1590/0034-7167-2024-0525
Summary
Mindfulness practice significantly reduces fear, anxiety, and stress among postpartum women. An intervention with 19 postpartum inpatients between March and June 2022 demonstrated that eight mindfulness sessions fostered self-regulation, attententional control, and emotion regulation. Participants also experienced a change in self-perspective and increased body awareness. By becoming attuned to their physical and emotional sensations, these women engaged in a reflective process that effectively alleviated distress during the challenging postpartum period, highlighting mindfulness as a powerful tool for maternal well-being.
Abstract
to understand how mindfulness practice helps alleviate distress among postpartum inpatients at a public maternity hospital. this intervention study was carried out between March and June 2022 with 19 postpartum women. Data were collected through interviews conducted before and after eight mindfulness sessions and analyzed using thematic analysis. mindfulness fostered self-regulation, attentional control, emotion regulation, a change in perspective on the self, and increased body awareness. It also reduced fear, anxiety, and stress. by becoming aware of the physical and emotional sensations of their bodies, postpartum women engaged in a reflective process that helped alleviate distress during the postpartum period.