Developing holistic approaches to maternity and perinatal mental health

In the UK, we know that structural inequalities contribute to poorer health outcomes for some groups. In relation to maternity care, Black women have higher maternal death rates than white women, and an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth. Women with multiple physical and mental health conditions and social complexity are at greatest risk of death during pregnancy or in the year following birth.

Improving care for populations at risk is crucial. Since 2017, our maternity and perinatal mental health research at NIHR ARC South London has explored new approaches to address these inequalities.

Hear from our collaborative ARC research teams – including researchers, service users, charities and policymakers – about how we have aimed to address key inequalities in maternal health care and perinatal mental health, and how we have worked in close partnership with patient and public members and people with lived experience.

• Using innovative peer-research methods to help address inequalities and capture the experiences of people that we do not normally hear from
• Using linked healthcare records from maternity, mental health and hospital admissions data to map care pathways and birth outcomes for women from at-risk groups and those at risk of perinatal mental illness
• Investigating the complex contextual factors surrounding severe maternal morbidity and mortality among women with mental illness in south London
• Evaluating the impact of place-based models of maternity care targeted at vulnerable and disadvantaged women
• Improving health outcomes for women and babies at higher risk of complications during pregnancy and birth
• Better supporting migrant mothers and babies
• Exploring the experiences of women who had attempted suicide during the perinatal period, and lessons for care services
• Improving healthcare for women and babies when child protection services are involved

The event will include presentations, Q&As and panel discussions with researchers, peer-researchers, people with lived experience, charity collaborators and policymakers. There will also be an exhibition of photography capturing women’s lived experience using PhotoVoice, a research organisation that supports participatory photography.

As well as exploring what we have learnt from our research over the past five years, we will be looking forward to how we will advance this work in the future. Together, we will advocate for a more holistic approach to women’s health and social care services, that meets women’s needs, improves safety, and is fairer and more efficient.

Anyone passionate about improving maternal health and maternal mental health equity, including healthcare professionals, researchers, patient and public involvement members, policymakers and service commissioners, charity and community organisation representatives.

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Host or Publisher NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London