Traumatic childbirth, wellbeing and social identity of new mothers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of traumatic childbirth on identifying as a new mother and the implications for psychological wellbeing
IRAS ID
279433
Contact name
Lorna Hogg
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 16 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Traumatic childbirth can lead to a range of damaging and long-lasting effects for women. However, little is known about its impact on mothers’ sense of identity. For mothers having their first child, traumatic childbirth occurs during the life transition of entering parenthood, when mental health and social connections are vulnerable. Social identity is particularly relevant here as research shows it can protect psychological wellbeing in the face of change. We know that traumatic childbirth is linked to poorer psychological wellbeing and that social identity can protect psychological wellbeing during life transitions, however little is known about the impact of traumatic childbirth on new mothers’ social identity and whether strength of identity as a new mother protects psychological wellbeing in the adjustment to parenthood. We predict that traumatic childbirth will reduce the strength of identity as a new mother and lead to lower levels of psychological wellbeing, and that strength of identity as a new mother will partly explain the strength of the relationship between traumatic childbirth and psychological wellbeing. If found, this would contribute to a greater understanding of the impact of traumatic childbirth and might lead to promising opportunities to protect new mothers at risk of poor mental health. We hope to recruit new mothers who have had a traumatic childbirth and new mothers who have not had a traumatic childbirth to compare their levels of wellbeing and their strength of identity as a new mother. Each participant will be asked to fill in a few online questionnaires at one time point so that we can learn more about the relationship between traumatic childbirth, social identity and psychological wellbeing.Summary of Results
This study aimed to understand the impact of experiencing a traumatic birth. More specifically, it aimed to investigate the impact on first-time mothers’ psychological wellbeing and social identity (how we see ourselves based on the social groups we belong to), and whether stronger identities as first-time mothers can protect their wellbeing after having a traumatic birth.In total, 123 first-time mothers took part in the study - 84 had experienced a traumatic birth and 39 had not. Participants completed questionnaires about their birth experiences, mental health, social identity, and wellbeing. The data showed that experiencing a traumatic birth and having a weaker ‘first-time mother’ identity were both associated with lower wellbeing. However, having a traumatic birth seemed to have no effect on how strongly the participants identified as first-time mothers. Furthermore, participants’ strength of identity did not seem to alter the relationship between traumatic childbirth and wellbeing; that is, when the participants identified more strongly as first-time mothers, it had no bearing on how much their experience of birth affected their wellbeing. Giving birth by caesarean section emerged as the only factor that appeared to affect participants’ strength of identity. Compared to vaginal or instrumental deliveries, giving birth by caesarean section was associated with weaker identities as first-time mothers.
In summary, experiencing a traumatic birth was associated with lower psychological wellbeing, and the strength of first-time mother identity does not appear to affect this relationship. Factors such as mode of birth may be more important. Further research will be needed to understand the relationships between these experiences and identify more effective ways of supporting first-time mothers’ mental health.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0956
Date of REC Opinion
24 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion