The lived experience of perinatal anxiety V 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived experience of perinatal anxiety.
IRAS ID
279813
Contact name
Kelda Folliard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
‘How do women experience anxiety during the perinatal period?’
Anxiety is experienced by many women during the perinatal period (during pregnancy and up to a year after the birth of the baby). Sometimes women will already have existing anxiety which continues and may worsen in pregnancy or postnatally; other women may have their first experience of significant anxiety during this time.
This ‘perinatal anxiety’ can have a negative impact on the unborn baby, child, older child and mother. Consequences of perinatal anxiety can include poor growth of the unborn baby, developmental difficulties in children and social withdrawal and relationship difficulties for women.Anxiety over this period of time has been the subject of much less research than antenatal or postnatal depression, even though it is thought to be a more common condition than depression. Existing research into perinatal anxiety often examines the tools used to diagnose the condition. Very little research seeks to understand how it feels to live with the condition.
A better understanding of how it feels to live with perinatal anxiety may inform caregivers about the kind of support that women need at this time. This research study asks: ‘How do women experience anxiety during the perinatal period’. The aims are to better understand perinatal anxiety from the perspectives of women with the condition, and to use this to inform guidance on how best to support women with perinatal anxiety.
The study will be using in-depth interviews lasting 30-60 minutes to seek the views of six pregnant women who are experiencing anxiety, each on three separate occasions (once during pregnancy and twice postnatally). Participants will be recruited via the antenatal and perinatal mental health services of the local acute and mental health trusts.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0104
Date of REC Opinion
21 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion