2018 MBCP SUMMER NEWSLETTER
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Dearest friends and colleagues,
It is with great delight that we send you this 2018 MBCP Summer Newsletter with an update from the Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation. Though it has been a while since you heard from us, our work has continued to grow and expand in wonderful and sometimes unexpected ways.
Mindful Birthing
is now available in 5 languages in addition to English – German, French, Dutch, Romanian, and Turkish – with a Chinese edition on its way! In order to meet and nourish the increasing interest in MBCP across the globe, we have been hard at work training the next generation of MBCP Teachers. In 2017, professional retreats and workshops were held in Paris, France; Freiburg, Germany; at the EarthRise Center in Northern California; and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. In addition, perinatal healthcare providers from 9 different countries and provinces, including New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, and the US completed their initial MBCP Teacher Training through our online course.
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This coming September, we are launching a year-long online MBCP Teacher Training that will be facilitated by our highly-skilled and dedicated MBCP Faculty. This is a momentous step for the Foundation, and we couldn't be more pleased. In addition to our online course, we are partnering with other MBCP instructors and organizations who wish to develop MBCP Teacher Trainings in their own countries and languages. One such training partnership was with the
European Center for Mindfulness
in Freiburg, Germany, where they just graduated their first class of MBCP Instructors!
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Under the extraordinary leadership of
Larissa Duncan, PhD
, the Elizabeth C. Davies Chair in Child and Family Well-Being and Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies and Family Medicine & Community Health at UW-Madison, MBCP research continues to thrive. This past spring, a study of our MBCP-inspired Mind in Labor workshop was published in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
, which you can read about below. Our work has been well-received by the media, including articles in
The New York Times
and
The Guardian
. More recently, there was a lovely TV spot featuring MBCP on
MomsEveryday
.
Larissa and I are looking forward to sharing more about MBCP during a pre-conference workshop at the July
International Conference on Mindfulness
in Amsterdam as well as learning from our MBCP research colleagues from Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands, who will be presenting with us their research findings during a conference symposium.
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On a personal note, my family and I celebrated my 75th birthday in May, just a few weeks after celebrating the 1st birthday of our third grandchild, Maddie. Children and grandchildren are certainly very real reminders of the passage of time and the preciousness of each moment, and I do find that the older I get, the more gratitude I have for the gift of mindfulness practice.
With deep appreciation for your continued interest, caring and support we send heartfelt wishes for good health, happiness and ease of being to you and yours.
Warmly,
Nancy
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Announcing the 2018-19 MBCP Teacher Training Faculty
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Apply to the 2018–19 Online MBCP Teacher Training
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:: September 2018 – July 2019 ::
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The Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation
is delighted to introduce a new, extended online Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Teacher Training and Certification Program for 2018–2019. The MBCPTT program will equip professionals to teach the 9-week MBCP course to pregnant women and their partners.
The training is open to professionals in the field of perinatal health who have had some experience of mindfulness practice through completing an 8-week MBSR, MBCT or MBCP course and who have had some experience working with families during the perinatal period.
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Level 1A
Introduction to MBCP
25 Sept – 4 Dec 2018
Level 1B
Foundational Teaching Skills
15 Jan – 16 Apr 2019
Level 2
Deepening Teaching Skills
& Understanding
14 May – 16 Jul 2019
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Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP):
A Possibility for Interrupting
Intergenerational Patterns of Suffering?
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International Conference for Mindfulness:
Science from Within
Pre-Conference Workshop
10 July 2018, 9AM–5PM
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Becoming a parent is perhaps the most profound change in the adult life cycle. Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) is designed as a childbirth education program grounded in teaching expectant parents mindfulness skills for addressing the stresses of pregnancy, the pain and fear that can be a normal part of the unpredictable birthing journey that brings new life into this world — and to have these skills in place for attuned parenting from the moments of birth. In learning mindfulness skills during pregnancy, there may be a way to increase the potential for a healthier gestation, a more positive childbirth and early postpartum experience as well as provide new parents with inner skills for parenting the next generation with greater awareness, kindness, connectedness, and care.
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BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
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Benefits of Preparing for Childbirth with Mindfulness Training: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Active Comparison
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Duncan, L.G., Cohn, M.A., Chao, M.T., Cook, J.G., Riccobono, J., & Bardacke, N.
Abstract
Background
Childbirth fear is linked with lower labor pain tolerance and worse postpartum adjustment. Empirically validated childbirth preparation options are lacking for pregnant women facing this problem. Mindfulness approaches, now widely disseminated, can alleviate symptoms of both chronic and acute pain and improve psychological adjustment, suggesting potential benefit when applied to childbirth education.
Methods
This study, the Prenatal Education About Reducing Labor Stress (PEARLS) study, is a randomized controlled trial (RCT; n = 30) of a short, time-intensive, 2.5-day mindfulness-based childbirth preparation course offered as a weekend workshop, the Mind in Labor (MIL): Working with Pain in Childbirth, based on Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) education. First-time mothers in the late 3rd trimester of pregnancy were randomized to attend either the MIL course or a standard childbirth preparation course with no mind-body focus. Participants completed self-report assessments pre-intervention, post-intervention, and post-birth, and medical record data were collected.
Results
In a demographically diverse sample, this small RCT demonstrated mindfulness-based childbirth education improved women’s childbirth-related appraisals and psychological functioning in comparison to standard childbirth education. MIL program participants showed greater childbirth self-efficacy and mindful body awareness (but no changes in dispositional mindfulness), lower post-course depression symptoms that were maintained through postpartum follow-up, and a trend toward a lower rate of opioid analgesia use in labor. They did not, however, retrospectively report lower perceived labor pain or use epidural less frequently than controls.
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The Mindful Birthing & Parenting Foundation
The Mindful Birthing and Parenting Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop, teach, train, and research mindfulness programs in order to foster health in the birthing process and in family relationships. We are funded exclusively by the support and generosity of private donors and the income we raise through MBCP training programs. As we continue to grow our presence, add partners to our team, and expand our scholarship offerings, we hope that we can also count on your support
of our efforts.
Donations
made to the Foundation are tax-deductible and directly serve the work of our mission.
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