Co-designing the perinatal loss care pathway at Barts
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Co-designing the perinatal loss care pathway at Barts Health NHS Trust
IRAS ID
356858
Contact name
Rebecca Webb
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, St Georges, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
During pregnancy and birth women may suffer from the loss of their baby (perinatal loss). The loss of a baby can lead to mental health difficulties in parents. It is therefore important that services supporting those who have experienced loss are designed in a way that meets parents’ needs. These may involve providing support, and referring women to other services that provide psychological care. However, currently at Barts Health, psychological support after perinatal loss is not always available when it is needed. This project will therefore design a perinatal loss care pathway at Barts Health with a focus on psychological support. A care pathway can be defined as a plan or pathway that outlines steps for caring for a specific group of people (e.g. those who have experienced perinatal loss). To do this, 10 parents who have experienced perinatal loss whilst under the care of Barts Health, and 10 health professionals who work with families who experience perinatal loss at Barts Health will be asked to take part in the research. The researchers will carry out interviews with parents and health professionals to understand their thoughts about the current perinatal loss care pathway, and how it could be improved. After this, four sessions with parents, and four sessions with health professionals will be held where the groups design the new perinatal loss care pathway for Barts Health. The final session will include both parents and health professionals. At the end of this study, a new perinatal loss care pathway, with a focus on psychological support, for Barts Health will be finalised. The new pathway will be put into practice in a further project.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
25/WS/0135
Date of REC Opinion
4 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion