Mindful Moment

Although the period after childbirth may be perceived by many parents and mothers as a gratifying and satisfying time, it is also a challenging period, often leading parents, especially mothers, to experience high levels of parenting stress. Parenting stress has been associated with several negative consequences for mother-infant relationship and for child’s development and parenting. Previous research suggested that even mothers who do not experience high levels of parenting stress often find it difficult to adjust to the parental role.

Thus, the development of psychological interventions that help mothers to adjust to the postpartum period while developing positive parenting skills is needed. In this context, mindful and compassionate parenting interventions may have an important role in helping mothers regulate their parenting stress, as well as promote more positive and secure relationships with their infants. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the first waves, has made it difficult the development of face-to-face and group interventions, which has led to a greater investment in e-health interventions for mental health promotion (e-mental health), particularly useful in a pandemic context, given its accessibility and flexibility.

The Mindful Moment – a mindful and compassionate parenting program, web-based and self-guided – appeared in this context with the aim of providing to mothers with moderate/high levels of parenting stress, in the postpartum period, a psychological intervention that, in other way (i.e., in person and in a group), it would not be accessible given the pandemic-related restrictions.

The Mindful Moment is constituted by six modules, and it is focused on the parental relationship and on the promotion of protective psychological resources (mindfulness and self-compassion)