Legacies and Futures
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Legacies and Futures: Gestational Parents' Experiences with Vulnerability and Resilience as it Influences Parent and Neonatal Health
IRAS ID
264198
Contact name
Kate Luxion
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2020/02/50, UCL Data Protection Number
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Patients using reproductive health services, like pregnancy/antenatal care, are often assumed to be heterosexual married women whose gender matches their sex assigned at birth (i.e., cisgender). This assumption shapes pregnancy care, giving a limited picture of pregnancy and childbirth. In these instances, parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, intersex, asexual, and/or transgender (LGBTQIA+) can feel invisible or out-of-place because of stigma. In the United Kingdom, there are 525,000 LGBTQIA+ potential gestational parents who may face this type of discrimination while receiving pregnancy care. For this study, discrimination and prejudice, as forms of minority stress, will be assessed along with resilience factors to better understand the impacts on pregnancy and childbirth. The planned study will observe pregnant parents to see how risk and resilience in pregnancy care might influence parent health and birth outcomes. A sample of pregnant parents (N=800) will take part through an online panel survey (completed twice), linked to their electronic health records for biomarker data. LGBTQIA+ pregnant parents (n=200) will be case-matched to Cisgender, heterosexual pregnant parents (n=600) using a 3 to 1 ratio. Patients from University College London Hospital, one of four sites, will be invited to a sub-study where they will asked to complete an at-home journal activity in-between their two online surveys. This subsample (n=30) will have a mixture of high and low vulnerability and resilience scores to reduce homogeneity (i.e. sameness) in the scores. Online panel surveys and the journal responses combine as part of a concurrent mixed-methods longitudinal study. Findings could improve pregnancy care guidelines and policy to assist in reducing minority stress for pregnant parents.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0551
Date of REC Opinion
10 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion