Abstract
Self-compassion is currently a rapidly expanding area of research. One area in which self-compassion is being applied is during pregnancy and in the first year postnatal. This time is known to be a point where women experience increased vulnerability to mental health difficulties and a drop in their overall wellbeing. Maternal psychological distress has been linked to poorer maternal-infant attachment and poor mother and infant outcomes. One area which women report as an area of difficulty is infant feeding, the challenges and method in which women feed their children has been associated with feelings of shame and guilt. I have been struck while talking to people about this just how intense and long lasting these feelings can be. Self-compassion has been reported to protect against feelings of shame in a range of contexts. Part one of this portfolio presents empirical research into a self-compassion intervention and the relationships between self-compassion, shame and guilt associated with infant feeding, maternal infant attachment and breastfeeding outcomes. While the intervention was not found to significantly impact levels of self-compassion, the study found significant evidence for self-compassion’s relationship with shame, guilt, maternal-infant attachment and breastfeeding outcomes, highlighting the role of self-compassion in maternal wellbeing in the perinatal period. Part two of this portfolio presents a systematic review of the relationship between self-compassion and wellbeing in the perinatal period. Despite the recent interest both therapeutically and in research, to date no review has been published on self-compassion’s application to wellbeing in the perinatal period. The reviews findings suggest there is significant relationship between wellbeing and self-compassion in the perinatal period. Self-compassion interventions also showed good promise for a range of psychosocial outcomes.