Mindful Birth, Mindful Life: Inner Resources for Parenthood and Beyond
When we talk about childbirth, the focus is so often on what to do:
What to eat.
What to pack.
What breathing technique to use, and so on.
But when I sat down with Carol O'Donoghue, MSN, MPH, CNM, FNP-BC, MFT, PMH-C and Molly Weingrod—two brilliant teachers of Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP)—our conversation focused on something deeper: How do we be with the unexpected?
Because the truth is, birth doesn’t always go according to plan. Neither does parenting. Or marriage. Or life.
And yet, so many of us—especially high-achieving women in professions like law—are taught to believe that with the right preparation, we can control outcomes.
But as Carol and Molly reminded me:
“You can only plan so far. But you honestly don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Contractions That Go Beyond the Delivery Room
In our conversation, we spoke about the contractions that show up far beyond the birthing space. The ones no one prepares you for:
The moment in a doctor’s office when you hear something you weren’t expecting
The grocery store tantrum that leaves you sweating and ashamed
The heartbreak of plans unraveling
The exhaustion of showing up again, and again, and again
Carol and Molly shared that one of the core teachings of MBCP is that mindfulness allows us to pause, to recognize our patterns, and to respond to these moments with kindness—not perfection.
It reminded me of something I often say when teaching mindfulness to professionals:
You may not be able to stop the waves, but you can learn how to ride them.
And that surfboard? It’s built from our innate inner resources, such as trust, patience, strength, and compassion.
From Information to Transformation
MBCP, originally created by Nancy Bardacke (author of Mindful Birthing), is more than a childbirth education course. It’s a mindfulness training—one that meets you at the edge of one of life’s biggest transitions and invites you to meet it with your full self.
As Molly shared:
“Information is great, and it’s what gets many of us into birth work. But it’s not what gets us through life’s raw, existential moments.”
That kind of strength comes from within—and it can be cultivated with mindfulness practice. Mindfulness teaches us how to be present not just for birth, but for everything that follows.
You can catch the full episode now on YouTube and Spotify.
Resources to Explore
If this speaks to you—or if you’re pregnant, postpartum, or parenting while navigating your own high-stress career—please take a moment to explore the incredible work of Carol and Molly and the community they’ve built:
Coming This Fall: Mindful Parenting on Zoom
If you want the support of community and the chance to deepen your practice, I’m excited to share:
🌱 This October, I’ll be co-facilitating a Mindful Parenting course via Zoom on behalf of the Center for Mindfulness at the Myrna Brind Center at Jefferson. We’ll explore how mindfulness can help you stay grounded, present, and connected through the chaos and beauty of parenting.
More details coming soon. But in the meantime, if you are interested in attending this workshop, please email me at CourtneySchulnickMindfulness@gmail.com to be added to the notification list.
🌟 Watch the Replay of My LinkedIn Live with Elena Deutsch
Lastly, if these themes of uncertainty, busyness, and overwhelm are speaking to you, I hosted a LinkedIn Live on Friday, August 1 (10:30–11:15am ET) with Elena Deutsch—on bringing mindfulness to career crossroads, especially for women in law. We explored why so many women lawyers feel stuck (and what helps), how mindfulness supports clarity and calm and career insights and mindset shifts that make a real difference.