Severe perinatal anxiety: A grounded theory study

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Severe perinatal anxiety: A grounded theory model of mothers' experience

  • IRAS ID

    321172

  • Contact name

    Vasiliki Mergia

  • Contact email

    v.mergia@uea.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of East Anglia Norwich

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    N/A, N/A

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 8 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    This study aims to explore the lived experience of severe anxiety in pregnant women and mothers who receive support from mental health services. It is hoped that this will help us to learn more about severe anxiety during pregnancy and one year after giving birth to a child; perinatal anxiety. As a result, it may help people who work in mental health care to offer better support to women to manage their anxiety during this time of their life.

    Severe perinatal anxiety is a mental health condition which can have a significant impact on the pregnant woman/mother’s functioning, on the experience of becoming a parent and on the relationship with a new baby. As a result, other related problems can appear, like low mood, shame and isolation. Thus, supporting women who experience severe perinatal anxiety is essential.

    A good understanding of anxiety disorders more generally and effective interventions for them exist. However, parents living with anxiety, and practitioners working in perinatal services often share aspects of the experience of anxiety during pregnancy and one year following birth that are not covered in the traditional theories. Moreover, the voice of women with lived experience in the literature is limited. Hence, it is important to do this study as we do not know enough about the lived experience of severe perinatal anxiety.

    To explore women’s experiences, we will take 90-minute long interviews from ten women who receive support from perinatal mental health services and have anxiety as their main presenting problem. All participants will be 18 years or over. Women who have experience of mental health problems during pregnancy and/or the first year after birth will help us create questions for the interview.

  • REC name

    East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    23/EE/0035

  • Date of REC Opinion

    16 Feb 2023

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion