EXMEPP

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Understanding the EXperiences of women with severe MEntal Health Issues in relation to Motherhood during the Postpartum Period.

• IRAS ID

  268783

• Contact name

  Theodora Ojiako

• Contact email

  theodora.ojiako@nuth.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Northumbria at Newcastle Upon Tyne

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Mental health issues after childbirth are considered a major public health challenge and a leading risk factor for maternal (motherly) illness and death in the postpartum period (after childbirth), (Pope et al., and Sharma et al., 2017). In the United Kingdom, 1 in 5 women will develop some form of mental health issues during pregnancy or one year after childbirth (Baur et al.,2014 and Vigo et al., 2016).

  There is a growing concern across governments, such as; the United State of America, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada (O’Hara, 2014; Viveiros et al., 2018), on the need to improve the mental health of women during pregnancy and after childbirth. It costs the United Kingdom £8.1 Billion to tackle mental health issues during pregnancy and after childbirth, which is 5 times the cost of improving mental health services. With treatment (as usual costs are 5 times the cost of providing additional support during pregnancy and after childbirth) (Baur et al., 2014).

  The study will use an interview approach to understand the experiences and factors that may contribute to women’s mental health issues in the postpartum period. Participants will involve ten women or more who have had their baby from 12 weeks above up to one year at the start of the study. Women who are 18 years and above with medical diagnoses of severe mental health issues will be approached for this study. Data collected by a semi-structured interview format will be coded and analysed using Nvivo software.

  Services so far have not discovered how best to support women with mental health issues. This study is important because it hopes to uncover the factors influencing women’s experiences and to discover the strategies/plan used by women to overcome the challenges of mental health issues and how best to support these women.

• REC name

  North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  20/NE/0061

• Date of REC Opinion

  24 Apr 2020

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion