(PS1-94) Mindfulness profiles in pregnancy: Relationships with postpartum mental health and mindful parenting

Abstract Text: The perinatal period, encompassing both pregnancy and the early postpartum weeks, is a critical transitional phase that can be particularly stressful for women. Dispositional mindfulness has been identified as a potential protective factor that facilitates adaptive coping with stress. Recent research has increasingly adopted a person-centered approach to examine mindfulness, identifying distinct subgroups of individuals based on their scores across the five facets of mindfulness. This study employed latent profile analysis to identify different mindfulness profiles in a sample of pregnant women. The study aimed to investigate whether these profiles were associated with differences in depressive and anxiety symptoms and in mindful parenting during the postpartum period (at 2 weeks postpartum and 4 months postpartum).
A total of 287 women participated in the study at 26 weeks of gestation and again at 2 weeks postpartum. Of these, 171 women also completed assessments at 4 months postpartum. Participants were aged between 20 and 45 years (M = 33.3, SD = 4.49). They completed self-report measures of mindfulness during pregnancy (Wave 1; W1) as well as depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy (W1), at 2 weeks postpartum (Wave 2; W2), and at 4 months postpartum (Wave 3; W3). Additionally, at W3, participants completed measures assessing mindful parenting. All responses were anonymized, and the study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the Basque Public Health System (Osakidetza; CEIC, PI2019101) and the Ethics Committee of the University of Deusto (ETK-10/19–20).
Three distinct mindfulness profiles were identified: (1) low mindfulness, (2) moderate mindfulness, and (3) non-judgmentally aware. The non-judgmentally aware profile emerged as the most adaptive for postpartum well-being. Compared to the low mindfulness profile, both the non-judgmentally aware and moderate mindfulness profiles were associated with lower symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the early postpartum period (W2). Furthermore, at 4 months postpartum (W3), women in the non-judgmentally aware group reported significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression symptoms than those in the other two groups. This profile, compared to the low mindfulness group, also exhibited significantly higher scores in three of the five dimensions of mindful parenting: self-regulation in the parenting relationship, listening with full attention, and non-judgmental acceptance of parenting behavior,
These findings highlight the importance of dispositional mindfulness as a potential protective factor during the perinatal period. Women who demonstrated higher levels of non-judgmental awareness experienced greater emotional well-being postpartum and engaged in more mindful parenting behaviors. These results underscore the potential benefits of mindfulness-based interventions during pregnancy to foster adaptive coping mechanisms and enhance both maternal mental health and the quality of mother-infant interactions.