Experiences of Hallucinations in Early Motherhood
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of Hallucinations in Early Motherhood
IRAS ID
316017
Contact name
Charlotte Close
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Coventry University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
P133347, Coventry University Ethics
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
It is well established that women with and without psychosis are vulnerable to experiencing hallucinations during the perinatal period (during their pregnancy and their baby’s first year of development). The aim of this qualitative study is to gain a better understanding of these hallucinatory experiences, specifically their content, meaning and influence on attachment/bonding relationships during early motherhood.
An interpretive phenomenological research design will be employed, recruiting a purposive sample of participants (N=10) who satisfy the following inclusion criteria: mothers to at least one child (not still born), who experienced any form of hallucination (auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile and gustatory) in the perinatal period. Participants will not have had hallucinatory experiences within the past month, and it will have been less than 5 years since their last perinatal hallucinations. Participants will be excluded if they do not experience hallucinations (e.g. delusions or sleep disturbances) or if hallucinations are present with comorbid substance use and/or brain injury.
This is a multi-site study: participants will be recruited from perinatal teams across the Midlands (Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT), Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT) and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust (HWHCT).
Participants will be asked to take part in a one-to-one interview, lasting approximately 60-minutes, and the findings will be transcribed and analysed in accordance with the 6 stage IPA process (Smith et al., 2021). Attachment and bonding styles developed during an infant’s early years are important to the child’s healthy development and the mother’s long-term wellbeing (Thompson, 2016). It is anticipated that the findings will help psychologists and other health/welfare agencies provide meaningful support to mothers as they learn to cope with their hallucinations while also trying to meet the needs of their child.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0216
Date of REC Opinion
10 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion