Mania and psychosis related symptoms in the perinatal period V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring people’s experiences of mania and psychosis related symptoms in the perinatal period.
IRAS ID
343933
Contact name
Daniela Di Basilio
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 16 days
Research summary
Research Summary
This study aims to explore people’s experiences of symptoms relating to mania and psychosis in the perinatal period. The perinatal period refers to the timeframe starting with conception, throughout pregnancy and up to 12-months after birth. For some people, symptoms might include:
• Feeling more euphoric, irritable or agitated than usual
• Feeling the need for less sleep than usual
• Being more easily distracted or confused than usual
• Increased self-esteem or self-confidence
• Rapidly changing moods
• Seeing, hearing or feeling things that others may not.
This list is not comprehensive, and participants may experience more than one symptom at a time. Participants do not need a diagnosis of any mental health difficulty, but they must have experienced any symptoms related to these symptoms (mania or psychosis) for most of the day, almost every day a week, in a one-month period at any point within the perinatal timeframe. Participants must also be pregnant or have given birth in the past 12 months.
Participants will be recruited via Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services in the NHS and private or charity organisations such as community play groups to allow for a range of voices to be heard and represented in the study. Once recruited and informed consent has been obtained, participants will be interviewed about their experiences. The information gained will be used to look for themes common to participants which are indicative of their experiences.Summary of Results
Thank you to the nine participants who took part in this study titled "Exploring People's Experiences of Mania and Psychosis Related Symptoms in the Perinatal Period". This study was conducted in partial fulfilment of the Lancaster University Doctorate in Clinical Psychology by Ellie Tolson, supervised by Dr Daniela Di Basilio and Dr Kyla Vaillancourt. This research was conducted between January 2025 and January 2026, and sponsored by Lancaster University.
Despite an increase in funding into perinatal services and research over recent years, further exploration is needed. Previous research into the presentations and symptoms relating to mania and psychosis in the perinatal period, which has been largely quantitative, has highlighted patterns of experiences within predominantly clinical populations. There is limited research that qualitatively explores the ways in which people make sense of their unique lived experiences during this complex time. This study, therefore, seeks to address this gap, and is underpinned by the following research questions:
• What are the most commonly reported experiences of mania and psychosis-related symptoms in the perinatal period?
• What are the main influences (if any) that these symptoms have on people’s well-being?
• How do people cope with these symptoms, and what strategies and sources of support do they deem most useful?
Nine participants were recruited via social media platforms and after providing informed consent, took part in a semi-structured interview held online or over the phone. Their responses were then analysed individually and sent to participants to check the interpretation of their experiences. If participants chose to review their transcript, they had two weeks to respond with feedback. Individual analyses were then combined to generate three overarching themes: (1) Threatened and Reconstructed Identities; (2) Hypervigilance, Emotional Overwhelm and the Struggle for Control; (3) Negotiating Legitimacy, Care and Validation. These themes capture the experience of distress, how perinatal distress destabilised participants’ sense of self and how they attempted to establish whether their distress was legitimate, understood and worthy of care.
These findings reflect the various ways in which women made sense of their perinatal mental health, which at times conflicted with systems around them and created a sense of powerlessness. Relational safety, from professionals and social networks, empowered women to reconstruct their identities to overcome perinatal distress. These results emphasise the need for person-centred care, which is key for clinical practice.
There were no direct benefits of taking part for participants; however, it is hoped that the process of taking part in research that can inform policy and shape perinatal services has been enjoyable and empowering for those who took part.
There is no further research planned relating to this study, however recommendations for future research includes qualitatively exploring the experiences of birthing people who are not having their first child, the efficacy and applicability of digital self-help interventions to support birthing people in the perinatal period, and to explore people's experiences where a "secondary gain" was felt e.g. a need for less sleep.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0108
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion