2013 Reports

Reducing the effects that cumulative maternal allostatic load poses on mother-infant interactions through mindfulness based family therapy in African American women

Shahan, Sadea

This proposed research project will use a mindfulness based intervention, namely, the Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) program that has been shown to have significantly reduced the stress and anxiety that mothers associate with pregnancy, parturition and postnatal care. Therefore, the present research study aims to use the MBCP model within the framework of family therapy in order to determine if such intervention is successful for reducing the effects of cumulative allostatic load on mother-infant interactions in primiparous mothers. Furthermore, if there is a reduction in the effects of the allostatic load on the mother, then it is expected that this should lead to a more healthy relationship between the mother and the infant, in addition to creating a secure attachment between them. Older African American women who are pregnant for the first time were found to be the most vulnerable to the negative effects of high allostatic load and thus, out of any other social, ethnic and racial group, they will gain the most out of the mindfulness based family therapy sessions if the therapy is found to be as successful as is being hypothesized.