Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting

Preparing for giving birth and having a baby is one of our most profound moments in a person’s life. The benefits of mindfulness are now widely communicated and learning mindfulness during your pregnancy — that is the awareness that comes from learning to pay attention in the present moment on purpose and non-judgmentally — can help you before, during and after the birth process.

Whatever your intention around the use or non-use of pain medication during childbirth, Mindfulness-Based Childbirth & Parenting (MBCP) provides skills for the mind and body to support you and your partner throughout the birthing process and way beyond.

In the course of this program you will learn how to engage the mind to work with emotional and physical pain and how to strengthen skills for managing stress in pregnancy, parenting and daily life.

By the end of this course, you will understand the mind/body connection of birth and how to optimize it by influencing your internal and external environment where possible and letting go when necessary.

During the nine-week MBCP course, you will learn to:
• Access deep physical and mental relaxation
• Engage the mind to work with pain during labor
• Increase confidence and courage for the experience of labor and delivery
• Practice prenatal yoga for strength and flexibility
• Develop skills for managing stress in pregnancy, parenting and daily life
• Enhance partner communication skills
• Become more aware of our own approach to parenting

Mindfulness Based Childbirth & Parenting (MBCP) was founded by midwife and mindfulness teacher Nancy Bardacke in 1998 and is an evidence-based adaptation of the well-researched Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
For more information about the history of MBCP, the current research visit www.mindfulbirthing.org