Self-construal change in mothers admitted to an MBU: repertory grid
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Self-construal change in mothers admitted to a Mother and Baby Unit: A repertory grid technique study.
IRAS ID
317387
Contact name
Anja Wittkowski
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Being pregnant, giving birth and being a new mum are life changing experiences for women. During this time, women are very vulnerable to experiencing mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and psychosis.
Some women will need more specialist support with how they feel during this time and can be admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit called a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). Research says that 4/1000 women are admitted to MBUs. MBU staff support the mother with the way she feels and to become more confident in her parenting.
Several studies have looked at the benefits of MBUs. MBUs can help with many things including the mother’s mental health, child development and the mother-baby-relationship. But to date no study has looked at how a mother’s view of herself changes over the duration of a MBU admission.
This exploratory study is funded by the University of Manchester. It aims to recruit between 10 to 15 mothers from two MBUs in the North West of England. Mothers aged 18 or over, proficient in English and admitted to an MBU within the last 2 weeks will be eligible for the study. Mothers must be able to give informed consent to partake.
Using a formal technique called repertory grid, mothers will be asked to describe how they view themselves in relation to other people by comparing different versions of themselves with one another and with other people. For example, comparing the ‘current view of themselves’ with the ‘ideal version of themselves’, or ‘other mothers on MBU’. Mothers will complete this interview within 2 weeks of admission and then at discharge, to capture change.
We hope that the study will show us the impact of MBU admission on women’s self-concept as a way to
understand the role of MBUs on women’s recoveries.REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
23/WA/0020
Date of REC Opinion
13 Feb 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion