ABSTRACT
Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) is a nine-week childbirth education program that offers expectant parents the opportunity to learn mindfulness skills for working with the stresses of pregnancy, the pain, fear, and potentially unexpected events that can occur during childbirth, and to have these inner skills in place for the intense adjustment of early parenting. The potential exists that in learning mindfulness skills during this profound time of change, expectant parents will build a foundation for more compassionate parenting. The bonds of friendship formed between expectant parents during the MBCP course can be quite strong, with some classes having maintained their connections for a decade or longer. The result is that there is a particular kind of excitement that is brought to the Reunion gathering; participants are happy to be together again. After a brief awareness of breathing, parents introduce their new babies, identify their particular joys and challenges of early parenting, and offer appreciation of oneself and one’s partner.
