Pregnancy with two or more long term health conditions
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pregnancy and birth with two or more long term health conditions: a qualitative study of experiences and care
IRAS ID
304317
Contact name
Beck (Rebecca) Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 28 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Some women and birthing people have more than one medical condition when they become pregnant and it is becoming more common, which can make pregnancy and health care more complicated. We want to know about their experiences and the care they receive during their pregnancy, birth and after birth. We will work with women and birthing people, their partners and their health professionals to establish how their care could be improved. We have not found any research exploring the experience of people in this group. We need to find out what it is like to have a baby with more than one health condition so that care can be designed in a way that meets women and birthing people’s needs. We are looking to address this by interviewing pregnant or recently pregnant women and birthing people with more than one health condition in year 1 and 2, followed by interviewing health professionals involved in the care of this group of people in year 2 and 3, to find out about their views of care and how it could be improved. In year 3, two workshops with our public contributors and health professionals will be conducted to share the results from the whole project. Then we will agree on what health services should put in place to provide good care for pregnant women and birthing people with more than one health condition.
Summary of Results
We completed 116 interviews with women living with two or more long term health conditions, their partners and staff to understand experiences of pregnancy care. We have written up the first paper from the work and grouped the results into five themes.
Both women with multiple health conditions and staff recognised that 'it takes a team' to avoid inconsistent care and communication. Women often had to become a 'care navigator' to link up members of their care team. Women described mixed experiences regarding care for their 'multiple identities and the whole person'. After pregnancy, the quality of care for women's health conditions reduced. Staff noted that it is important to listen to women as they are the experts in their own conditions. Staff also have to recognise their own 'boundaries of expertise'. Women and staff described difficulties in providing 'informational continuity' and the impacts on care. For example, the setup of care systems made it difficult for everyone to see all the information needed, especially when women received care in different places.
The second paper is being written at the moment and focuses on recommendations to improve care for pregnant women living with long term health conditions.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
22/WA/0021
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion