Women’s Experiences of Perinatal Anxiety

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A qualitative study to explore women's experiences of perinatal anxiety

• IRAS ID

  234223

• Contact name

  Carolyn Chew-Graham

• Contact email

  c.a.chew-graham@keele.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Keele University

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  455, Keele Independent Peer Review

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 10 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Perinatal anxiety occurs during pregnancy and/or up to one year after delivery and is estimated to affect between 13% and 22% of women. Perinatal anxiety can have negative impacts upon: pregnancy outcomes, parenting behaviour and the child’s development. Detection of perinatal anxiety is currently suboptimal, leading to many women not receiving treatment. There is limited research exploring the barriers to the detection of perinatal anxiety, especially from women who have experienced perinatal anxiety. These views will be important to understand how to improve the identification, support, and management of women experiencing perinatal anxiety.

  The aim of this study is to explore women’s experiences of perinatal anxiety to identify factors which impact upon the care and treatment received.
  
  Women who have experienced perinatal anxiety will be invited to take part through primary care (GP practices), specialist care (South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust, Perinatal Community Mental Health Team), third sector organisations (e.g. PANDAS) and social media groups (Twitter, Facebook and online forums).

  Interviews will be conducted with up to 20 women who have personal experience of perinatal anxiety and will last for up to one hour. Participants will be asked about their experiences of: perinatal anxiety, related healthcare they have received, and factors which positively and negatively influenced the detection and treatment of perinatal anxiety. Interviews will be digitally recorded with permission. The information provided during interviews will be typed up for the research team to analyse.
  
  This study will address the gaps in existing knowledge about the detection of perinatal anxiety. Data from this study will be combined with data from a separate study that explores healthcare professional views and experiences of perinatal anxiety to develop future research and policy and service recommendations.

• REC name

  London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/LO/1233

• Date of REC Opinion

  30 Jul 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion