Mindfulness Meditation as a Self-Care Practice in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Parents of cerebral palsy children especially their mothers, are exposed to lots of physical, spiritual and psychological stress. They spend most of their time on their child’s care, treatment and rehabilitation that causes negative impact on a mothers’ quality of life. Self-care can help these mothers cope with stressors lead to anxiety, depression, tension and burnout. Mindfulness meditation can be used to reduce stress, provide a sense of calmness and increase awareness but studies about using mindfulness meditation as self-care are limited, this research focused on whether mindfulness meditation as a self-care could have a positive impact on quality of life in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Shiraz Namazi hospital on 34 mothers with cerebral palsy children (16 assigned to intervention group and 18 to control group). Data on quality of life were analyzed following a 6 weeks mindfulness meditation intervention. Quality of life means score (SF-36 questionnaire) in intervention group (75.52±17.56) improved significantly compared to control group (54.85±17.38).p< 0/001. Based on the obtained results of this study, therefore, it is recommended that mindfulness meditation as a self-care intervention can be applied for improving the quality of life in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. This intervention should be considered as a part of family-centered nursing care programs.

Keywords:

cerebral palsy , mothers , mindfulness , meditation , self-care