Mothers on the Margins
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mothers on the Margins: perinatal mental health support for women with children's social care involvement
IRAS ID
336543
Contact name
Billie Lever Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Background
Infants under one are the most likely age group to be brought to court by social workers in childcare proceedings. Mothers are more likely to become involved with child protection services if they have a mental health diagnosis. These mothers may also face issues such as poverty, lack of social support, and sometimes domestic violence or substance use. When social services become involved, it can put more pressure on mothers’ mental health, causing difficulties to spiral.
Having a baby is a big transition, but it can also be a ‘window of opportunity’ for change. However, practitioners say they find it hard to engage with families at risk of custody removal. Mothers with infants involved with social services say they are less satisfied with their mental health care and have more needs left unmet. Those who have infants removed from their custody describe this as a time of acute crisis but struggle to get therapeutic support.
We aim to explore these families’ experiences further to identify how mental health services can support them better.
Design/methods
We will interview up to approximately 30 mothers who accessed mental health support during pregnancy or postnatally and had child protection involvement. We will explore women’s views of their needs, and how they believe they and their infants can best be supported. Wherever possible, we will also interview a partner or other family member of each woman. Additionally, we will carry out focus groups/interviews with up to approximately 40 mental health and social care practitioners, to discuss what they think helps/stops them providing good care.
Patient and Public Involvement
A lived experience advisory group will meet regularly to support the research. Working with lived experience advisors, we will develop creative good practice resources to support professionals working with this population.
The funder is HEE/NIHR. The project runs until the end of January 2029.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/SC/0259
Date of REC Opinion
19 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion