Loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) is known to be effective in improving mental health and interpersonal relationships. An exploratory pilot study was conducted with the aim of examining the feasibility of LKCM which known to be effective in improving mental health and interpersonal relationships for pregnant women. Measures of stress, depression, maternal fetal attachment, mindfulness and self-compassion of subjects (n=8) were obtained at baseline, and after a 4-weeks LKCM program to identify effectiveness and supplements. Based on a focus group interview, phenomenological analysis was also conducted. The results showed that improvement potential of psychological comfort, positive relationship with fetus as well as complementary points for session contents and home training. We hope that this study will broaden understanding for the development of LKCM for pregnant women and promote further research.

Background: The stress pregnant women feel causes adverse effects on healthy maternal-fetal attachment and accordingly, it is necessary to investigate the psychological factors that can alleviate it. Methods: The present study set a structural equation model to investigate whether mindfulness and self-compassion, which are valuable for mental health, promote maternal-fetal attachment by reducing the perceived stress. A total of 251 responses were collected through local hospitals, community health centers, and pregnancy-and child care-related online community web sites, and data were tested using a AMOS. Results: The results showed that the full mediation model in which each aspect of mindfulness and self-compassion promotes maternal-fetal attachment through perceived stress is most appropriate. Conclusions: The significance of the present study lies in looking into the relationships among these factors that have been researched individually so far by integrating them into a model. The limitations of the present study and directions for future research were discussed in the conclusion section.