Exploring the psychological needs of pregnant women with FGM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration of the psychological and emotional needs of pregnant women who have undergone female genital mutilation.
IRAS ID
131611
Contact name
Pauline Slade
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Research summary
The psychological and emotional consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) or circumcision are under researched, but are likely to affect women at specific points throughout their lives. Research into the impact of FGM on pregnancy and childbirth has focused on the impact of the physical consequences of FGM and on retrospective accounts of pregnancy.
The aim of the study is to explore how the psychological and emotional consequences of FGM impact on the experience of being pregnant, how women experience the process of pregnancy care and what the women feel that services can do to meet all their needs during pregnancy.
All participants will be female and have personal experience of FGM within their life. All participants will be pregnant at the time of the research and will be recruited from the antenatal link clinic, within the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. Non-english speakers will be included and interpreters will be provided for the interviews. Women will be excluded if they are currently accessing perinatal mental health services, if they are experiencing serious physical complications related to their pregnancy or if it is known that the pregnancy is a result of forced intercourse or domestic violence.
In depth semi-structured interviews with 8-10 participants will be conducted. The transcripts will be analysed using inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), which will go beyond basic descriptions and measuring the frequency of themes. During the analysis the participants will be viewed as experts on their experience and themes will be developed which are data driven; an approach which is particularly useful for under researched areas.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0868
Date of REC Opinion
3 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion