Women's experience of a postnatal appointment

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  How is behaviour change counselling within the six-to-eight-week postnatal appointment conducted and experienced?: an observation and interview study.

• IRAS ID

  354606

• Contact name

  Lucy Hulme

• Contact email

  lucy.hulme@manchester.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Manchester

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Health behaviours are important because they have been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes and lifelong non-communicable diseases. The Teachable Moments model explains that individuals spontaneously adopt risk-reducing health behaviours after a specific health event. The journey of pregnancy to postpartum care has many different teachable moment opportunities (e.g., appointments, interactions with healthcare providers and services, scans, triage, etc.). Therefore, within the pregnancy journey there are many unique opportunities in which to promote and maintain behaviour change. The six-to-eight-week postnatal appointment is one of these teachable moment opportunities but is currently underutilised.
  During the six-to-eight-week postnatal appointment, policy states that GPs should engage women in health behaviour change counselling about their physical health. However, little is known about how GPs engage women in these discussions, and how women experience these discussions. Therefore, this study will ask the questions:
  1. How do General Practitioners conduct behaviour change counselling for health behaviour change conversations with women during the six-to-eight-week postnatal appointment?
  2. How do women experience these health behaviour change conversations?
  Eligible participants include GPs working at a GP surgery within the Greater Manchester or Salford area that deliver the six-to-eight-week postnatal check. Also, women over the age of 18 years attending their six-to-eight-week postnatal check at a GP surgery within the Greater Manchester or Salford area. The study is likely to last a year. The six-to-eight-week postnatal appointment will be observed when consent is given from the GP and women. Women will also be given the chance to be interviewed about their experience of the appointment
  

• REC name

  London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/PR/1442

• Date of REC Opinion

  16 Dec 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion