Improving the Well-Being of Mothers of Infants and Toddlers through Mindfulness and Creativity

Abstract

U.S. mothers of infants and toddlers report experiencing feelings of confusion surrounding their identity in early motherhood. Research also shows emotion dysregulation, cognitive overwhelm, attention issues, high stress and isolation as common challenges mothers of toddlers and infants experience in their daily lives. These challenges can directly impact a mother’s well-being as well as her child’s well-being and the entire family unit. Mindfulness practice and creative expression are two ways of being that relate directly to each other and have been shown to improve well-being. Through repeated exercising of mindfulness and creativity, one can regulate their emotions and reduce stress while cultivating presence, compassion, a sense of purpose and feelings of connection. This thesis proposes a novel collection of tools for weaving mindfulness and creativity practices into the fabric of the daily lives of mothers of infants and toddlers to improve their well-being. The creative project is a self-help style book titled Unfold: A path to thriving in early motherhood through mindfulness and creativity, which incorporates anecdotal examples of mindfulness and creativity integrated into early motherhood as well as practices, meditations and other tools for mothers of infants and toddlers to integrate mindfulness and creativity into their daily lives