Beyond Birth: A Mindful Guide to Early Parenting

Please note: This book is black and white inside. There is a beautiful colour version available too.

What is Mindful Early Parenting, and why do we need to "do it"?

Becoming a parent, each time, is a challenge. It is both emotional and mentally testing, requiring resilience and a great deal of support where perhaps there may not be any. Society and cultures vary widely on what support is on offer and dictate people's opinions on mental health, especially around the first 1001 days from conception.

This guide looks at ways parents can gently re-educate themselves about mental health, and bring simple, effective ways to bring daily mental wellbeing practices into their lives to manage the challenges and importantly, bank the good times too. We know parental mental health affects infants and children in the formative years and so taking care to build emotional resilience and model that to our families can help long-term mental health in families.

In a UK survey called "5 Big Questions", conducted by The Duchess of Cambridge in 2020, findings stated that "just 10% of parents took time for their own wellbeing when asked how they had prepared for the arrival of their baby and 37% were concerned about the effects COVID-19 will have on their long-term mental wellbeing. 90% of people see parental mental health and wellbeing as being critical to a child’s development, but in reality, people do very little to prioritise themselves."(ref: 5 Big Insights). It is likely this is a worldwide issue and not just the UK witnessing these worrying insights.

This is a handbook to help people support themselves when they are feeling most vulnerable, navigate the transformation of becoming a parent and easing the recovery. Using universally known positive psychology, tips, tools and techniques along with relaxation, journaling prompts, affirmations, and audio meditations, the guide walks parents through some of the main issues that commonly arise, helping them to gain confidence to reach out to specialist professional mental health services if the need arises.

Written with all parents in mind, the guide is inclusive of all genders and nationalities, addressing the benefits of building stronger connections in every home and community with skills for life.

Sophie Burch is on a mission to bring mental wellbeing practices into the lives of every parent starting in the perinatal period, to preserve and protect mental health and help to prevent mental ill-health. She has now trained practitioners worldwide to run Beyond Birth Sessions in their communities and is passionate about practising what we preach for ourselves, so our children will follow and grow healthy ways to live for life.