The ACT in Perinatal SIG is excited to start off the new year by welcoming Dr. Ilyssa Rivera as she presents her research on ACT and breastfeeding outcomes! Join us on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 12 pm Eastern to engage in a live Q & A after the presentation. If you can't make it, the recording will be posted to the SIG page.
Title: Impact of the Mindfulness Acceptance Commitment Protocol on the Breastfeeding Experience of Expecting Mothers
Presenter: Ilyssa Rivera, PhD, BCBA
Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 12 pm Eastern Time
Abstract: The process of learning to breastfeed can be anxiety-provoking for new parents. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a tool used to increase psychological flexibility across many situations, including performance-based activities, such as breastfeeding. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate whether the seven-module mindfulness acceptance commitment (MAC) protocol decreased anxiety for expecting mothers learning to breastfeed with simulation breasts and baby. As the participants progressed through the MAC protocol, galvanic skin response, GAD-7, and water volume outcomes remained unstable. These were not the hypothesized results, though confounding variables, such as different emotionally charged events occurring outside of the study, may have impacted the results. At the end of intervention, all participants reported increased breastfeeding self-efficacy and mindfulness skills, but the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness S kills and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire outcomes showed instability. Though a functional relationship was not demonstrated with the measures used in this study, the self-report questionnaires indicate social validity and expected generalization to other aspects of daily living. Notable limitations include measurement challenges, environmental variability, and unreliability of self-report measures.