POSIE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving Postpartum Outcomes of Severe mental Illnesses in Ethnically diverse mothers (POSIE)
IRAS ID
342441
Contact name
Kam Bhui
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 11 days
Research summary
Background information
Tragically, suicide is the leading cause of death among mothers in the year after giving birth. Mental illness is the biggest cause of suicide.
For some new mothers, the period after having a baby can be a time when they are vulnerable to developing a mental illness. Mental illness has become increasingly common among new mothers, with 30% more mothers seeking mental health support in 2023 compared to 2022.In the year after giving birth, mothers from Black ethnic backgrounds have nearly 3 times the risk of dying compared to white mothers. Mothers from Asian backgrounds also have an increased risk of dying. This is, in part, because the care provided is not right for everyone, so they may not be getting the right mental health support.
Severe mental illnesses after having a baby include severe depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and psychosis. Psychosis can involve hearing voices and having unusual or distressing beliefs. New mothers who have these illnesses might risk harming themselves or their babies. These symptoms can be very frightening for the mother, and urgent care is often needed.
What is the purpose of this research?
We are doing this research to find ways to improve the care of mothers who have severe mental illness. When they come out of hospital, mothers should receive help from community mental health services to recover. But a lot of mothers don’t get any aftercare. We want to know why this is, and make sure mothers from all backgrounds can get the care that they need.What will we do?
We will use health records that are already collected and stored in a database, that has no information that would allow us to identify individual people. Using health records in England from 2011-2021 (the most recent 10 years available), we will work out how often severe mental illness occurs in mothers. We will see if mothers from ethnic minority groups or who live in poorer areas receive different care or take longer to recover, and the related healthcare costs.
In four cities (Manchester, Sheffield, London, Oxford), mothers will share their experiences by taking photographs. They will share how their photographs relate to their experiences as mothers. Mothers who have experienced mental illness after having a baby will help lead the workshops. Sharing photos can help people to unfold what has happened to them and overcome challenges in findings the right words to talk about their experiences. We want to helppeople who don’t usually have their voice heard to have a say in how future care is designed.Lived experience is part of all aspects of the study. We will discuss this research with mothers, psychiatrists, general practice (GP) doctors, social workers, nurses, peer support workers and carers, to identify how to improve care and design a new care process that is safe and accessible.
We will test the new care process in mental health services over 1 year. We want to make sure that the new care process helps mothers with different backgrounds and needs. This will mean that more mothers can receive the right care and recover, and access more support where needed. We will also assess the cost of the care process.
How will the findings have an impact?
This research hopes to have a positive effect on mothers’ mental health and improve their care. Our study team includes the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and we are linked with policy makers. We have networks to influence national guidance.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0304
Date of REC Opinion
28 May 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion