Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety (MAP) v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety (MAP): The Effectiveness of Different Approaches
IRAS ID
274901
Contact name
Susan Ayers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Mental illness affects one in five women during pregnancy and the first year after birth. Depression and anxiety are most common but there is very little research on anxiety. Perinatal anxiety affects around 15% of women and leads to greater risk of premature birth, postnatal depression and long-term mental health and behaviour problems in their children. It is currently recommended that women are asked two questions about anxiety by their midwife. However, it is not known if these are the best questions to identify women who need treatment. To be useful the anxiety questionnaire must be: (1) acceptable to women; (2) effective at identifying women who require treatment and those who do not; (3) practical and easy to use in the NHS and other UK health services.
This application is part of a larger study (MAP - Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety: The Acceptability, Effectiveness and Feasibility of Different Approaches). The MAP study aims to identify the most effective, acceptable and feasible method for assessing anxiety in women during pregnancy and after birth. We will address each of these important points through three connected Work Packages (WPs). We will compare four different anxiety questionnaires in NHS services in England and Scotland. We selected the questionnaires by looking at reviews of all the available evidence.
The current application is focused on Work Package 2 (WP2) of the MAP study. WP2 will identify the most effective questionnaire to identify women who need treatment. It will also establish the best time in pregnancy to ask women about anxiety in order to prevent long term problems. Women will complete the questionnaires three times in pregnancy and once after birth together with other questions about their health. Interviews will be carried out on a sub-sample (25%) to compare interview responses with questionnaire scores for accuracy.
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0033
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion