Experiences of Perinatal care by Black women and Health Professionals
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the experiences and perspectives of perinatal care in black women and health professionals in Leicester.
IRAS ID
317328
Contact name
Ebunoluwa Makinde
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
De Montfort University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Recent statistics illustrates that Black women are five times more likely to die in pregnancy than other ethnic groups ( MMBRACE, 2020). Reasons for this are unclear and appear unrelated but evidences linked this to inequalities in the experience of care and access to maternity care, thus impacting on mental and emotional wellbeing and maternal health outcome ( Wallace et al, 2016, Khan et al, 2021). Further investigation is needed to clarify these reasons and illustrate their impact on health outcome for black women.
Also, a stark disparity in the experience of perinatal mental illness is also noted by past researchers. The findings from most studies concluded that the risk of developing perinatal mental health illness is also higher in black women (Watson et al, 2019: Redshaw et al, 2016). Even when evidence suggests that women's mental health are significant predictors of their health status in perinatal period and lifelong, however it is usually less likely to be diagnosed (Redshaw et al, 2016).
Given these facts, the study seeks to explore Black women’s experiences and perspectives of using maternity service and assess their mental and emotional wellbeing in their perinatal period. The study will also seek to know the perspectives of maternity services from people who make up Black women support network.Another part of the study will also explore the experiences of providing perinatal care to Black women from perinatal health professionals.
The proposed study is a mixed methods study and it is divided in to three phases. The first phase of the study will utilize standardized questionnaire to assess Black women’s mental and emotional needs, the second phase of the study will be a focus group discussion with Black women, health professionals and Black women’s support networks. The last phase of the study is a semi structured interview with Black women.REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0666
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion