Mindful Birthing: Training the

REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION

“Bringing mindfulness to the birthing process can reduce fear and stress and make the experience more rewarding. All that's required is to practice the techniques that Nancy Bardacke explains so clearly in this book.” — ANDREW WEIL, MD and New York Times bestselling author

Practical tools for meeting your childbirth experience with confidence and calm

Today, the journey into parenthood can feel more overwhelming than ever. Mindful Birthing maps out nurse-midwife Nancy Bardacke’s innovative approach to preparing for the profoundly life-changing experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting.

Drawing on her acclaimed Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) program, Bardacke guides you in practices that have been proven to deliver measurable, long-lasting benefits for expectant parents in birth and beyond. Now in this revised and updated edition, you’ll discover strategies that have supported new parents worldwide and their transformative impact, with new studies showing that mindfulness practices as taught in MBCP provide maternal mental health benefits for several years post-birth.

Judgment-free and compassionate, evidence-based and inclusive, Mindful Birthing is designed to help you:

• Increase confidence and reduce fear of childbirth, regardless of your birth plan or preferences
• Build inner resources for working with labor pain
• Diminish the possibility of postpartum depression
• Improve couple communication and connection
• Strengthen the parent-baby bond from pregnancy onward
• Learn life-long skills for reducing stress and increasing joy and wellbeing