Women’s experience of health services for perinatal anxiety (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising care for perinatal anxiety (MAP Alliance): Women’s experience of health services for perinatal anxiety (v1)
IRAS ID
313535
Contact name
Susan Ayers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary
One in five women experience a mental health problem in pregnancy or the first year after birth (also called the perinatal period). Perinatal anxiety and associated disorders such as depression are most common, and cause suffering for women and their families. They are associated with poorer birth outcomes including premature birth and can lead to mental health and behavioural problems for children through to adulthood. At the moment we know little about what care is offered to and accessed by women with perinatal anxiety and associated disorders, and what the impact and cost of that care is.
This application is part of a larger study (MAP Alliance) which aims to produce high quality evidence about the accessibility, acceptability and costs of support, care and treatments for perinatal anxiety. The MAP Alliance study will gather this information by following up a group of over 2000 women who we are already working with. The Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety (MAP) study began in 2020 and is following women through their pregnancy to find the best way of identifying women with anxiety. This new study (MAP Alliance) will continue following these women and their babies until two years after birth, and involves five connected projects.The current application focuses on project 3 of MAP Alliance. For this project, we plan to interview 60 women who told us on questionnaires that they experienced anxiety or distress during pregnancy or after birth. We will collect their views of the care they were offered/received and how acceptable they found it. This research will enable us to make recommendations about what is working and what can be improved to support women with perinatal anxiety, which will therefore benefit women, their families, and our healthcare system.
Summary of Results
One in five women experience a mental health problem in pregnancy or the first year after birth (also called the perinatal period). Perinatal anxiety and related difficulties such as depression are common and cause suffering for women and their families. They can lead to problems including premature birth and mental health and behavioural problems for children through to adulthood. At the moment we know little about what care is offered to and accessed by women with perinatal anxiety and related difficulties.
We interviewed 60 women who told us on questionnaires that they experienced anxiety or distress during pregnancy or after birth. The women were taking part in a larger study involving over 2000 women who completed questionnaires throughout pregnancy and after birth for the MAP (Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety) and MAP Alliance studies. We asked them about what kind of care they were offered and received and their experiences of it.
Women told us that discussing their mental health problems with healthcare professionals could sometimes raise their fears about how they would be judged as a mother. They told us they were more able to discuss their mental health if they felt the support was non-judgmental and their concerns were listened to and taken seriously. Having the same healthcare professional throughout pregnancy and after birth also helped because women could develop a trusting relationship that allowed them to discuss their feelings more openly.
Women also thought it was important during healthcare appointments for their own health and mental health needs to be recognised and treated separately from their baby’s needs. They also wanted mental health services that offered choice, flexibility and were timely. This included choices about how to get referred, the type of treatment (e.g. talking therapy, medication), whether they’d be seen in person or online, and the number of treatment sessions offered.
This research has helped us make recommendations for healthcare professionals working in maternity and mental health services so that women with perinatal anxiety and related difficulties can be better supported.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
22/WS/0063
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion