Expectant Mothers Living with Alcohol Dependency: An IPA Study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Expectant Mothers' experiences of drug and alcohol use during pregnancy: an IPA study

• IRAS ID

  320426

• Contact name

  Samantha Ross

• Contact email

  S.Ross-20@sms.ed.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  The University of Edinburgh

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 3 months, 9 days

• Research summary

  Rationale
  Given that research on fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD) is in its infancy, this study proposes qualitative, phenomenological approach using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with expectant or new mothers who are using/did use alcohol throughout their pregnancy. 1 in 20 people in the population are affected by FASD (SIGN Guidelines, 2019), yet the research and understanding in this area is still rudimentary.

  Purpose
  With such little information on the lived experiences alcohol dependency in pregnancy, this research hopes to contribute to our understanding of this phenomena and develop an understanding of how expectant mothers’ make sense of their experiences.

  Who can take part?
  Expectant mothers dealing with alcohol dependency during their pregnancy.
  Women aged 18 years or over
  Pregnant women open to specialist NHS midwifery services

  
  What are the benefits of participating in this study?
  This study hopes to get the voices of women dealing with alcohol dependency and addiction during pregnancy heard. This study will also help with better understanding and contextualising mothers’ experiences in a non-stigmatising and compassionate way.

  Overall, this study hopes to give voice to a highly stigmatised group, where shame is prevalent. The researcher understands that alcohol use, particularly in Scotland, is bound up in a lot of complex socioeconomic and systemic/structural issues that are less likely to be explored in depth in quantitative studies. As such, this project hopes to contribute to raising awareness of these women’s experiences, in a compassionate, contextualised and non-stigmatising way. All of which could have implications for service development and/or help empower this population to talk more about their experiences to make sure their needs are met (Lyall et al., 2021).

• REC name

  Wales REC 7

• REC reference

  23/WA/0092

• Date of REC Opinion

  3 May 2023

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion