Non-medical needs for partners in pregnancy after loss
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Non-medical needs for partners in pregnancy after loss
IRAS ID
308601
Contact name
Alex Heazell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
In 2019, approximately 1 in 255 births ended in stillbirth or late miscarriage in England and Wales. Most women will embark on a further pregnancy within 12 months of their loss. Mothers encounter many challenges in subsequent pregnancies including high levels of anxiety, depression and grief. The Rainbow clinic aims to provide specialist care and support to families who have experienced the death of a baby during pregnancy or shortly afterwards. However, much less is known about partners’ experiences during and after subsequent pregnancies. This is important because partners have different coping strategies after the death of the baby, they are the prime source of support for mothers, and their bonding with the child can affect its subsequent development. There is lack of research to date which has investigated the experience of pregnancy after loss from the viewpoint of the mother’s partner. This study will build on our earlier work with mothers to identify the need for non-medical support for partners during a subsequent pregnancy, and after the birth of their baby. Women and their partners will complete questionnaires about their psychological wellbeing at 15 and 32 weeks gestation, and 4-6 weeks postnatally. Partners will also participate in two semi-structured interviews at approximately 28 weeks gestation and 4-6 months postnatally, and mothers will participate in one interview 4-6 months postnatally. Questionnaires will be completed online and interviews will take place via Zoom video conferencing software or telephone. The research is funded by the Kallipateira Moorhouse foundation and the Mitchell Family Charitable Trust. Participants will be recruited from two Rainbow clinics in Manchester, St Mary’s Hospital, at the Oxford Road Campus and Wythenshawe site. Findings from the study aim to inform the development of non-medicalised interventions to support mothers and partners during and following a subsequent pregnancy after loss.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0108
Date of REC Opinion
20 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion