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Care and self-reported outcomes of care experienced by women with mental health problems in pregnancy

Published on Friday, 17 November 2017 Tweet

Mental health problems in pregnancy and the postnatal period are relatively common and are associated with an increase in adverse outcomes. Jane Henderson, Julie Jomeen and Maggie Redshaw have conducted a study, using data from an English survey, to describe the care received by women with mental health problems in pregnancy, and to describe the effects of support, advice and treatment on outcomes in the postnatal period.

They found that women with antenatal mental health problems were significantly more worried at the prospect of labour and birth, had lower satisfaction with the experience of birth, worse postnatal mental health, and indications of poorer attachment to their baby. They also found that these women received substantially more care than other women but they did not always view this positively.

These results suggest that health care professionals may need additional training to effectively support women with mental health problems during the perinatal period.

You can read more about the study which has been published in Midwifery journal.

Updated: Friday, 20 November 2020 16:59 (v5)