Experiences of postpartum unusual thoughts in new mothers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of postpartum unusual thoughts in new mothers.
IRAS ID
255861
Contact name
William Sellwood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study aims to build on the findings of those by Barratt et al. (2014) who found a significant link between how some mothers experienced the birth of their baby and the prevalence of persecutory thoughts about their baby. They designed a 10-item measure of postpartum persecutory thoughts about baby (PPTB) with statements such as ‘Sometimes I thought my baby was the devil’. Participants answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each statement and scores were collated. \nAs a follow on from the above, we aim to look further into the presence of such thoughts, exploring detailed accounts of mothers’ experiences such as: when the thoughts started, how long they lasted, their frequency and severity, how they affected mothers’ mood and their perceived care of their baby, whether they shared these experiences with family, friends or health professionals. More importantly, we aim to determine the extent that these unusual thoughts are akin to psychotic phenomena and how they may relate to attachment issues and traumatic birth. We have renamed the measure as ‘Unusual Thought About Baby’.\nEach participant will be interviewed for approximately an hour and transcripts will be analysed for common themes which will indicate possible shared experiences, giving a richer understanding of what it’s like to have persecutory thoughts whilst caring for a new baby. \n
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EE/0285
Date of REC Opinion
15 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion