Pregnancy Expectation and Experience of First Time Mothers Over Forty
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Listening to Women: Pregnancy and Birth Expectations and Experiences of First Time Mothers Over the age of Forty
IRAS ID
248917
Contact name
Clare Edney
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mr
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 6 days
Research summary
Pregnancy expectation and experience: What are the lived experiences of first time mothers over the age of forty? Births to women over forty have trebled since 1990 and continue to grow. These women experience substantially higher rates of pregnancy complications such as diabetes, pre eclampsia and stillbirth. First time older mothers are more frequently induced and deliver by Caesarean section. These experiences can cause anxiety or exacerbate mental health issues which can adversely impact parenting. Care is usually shared by a multi-disciplinary team, reducing continuity from a known midwife. There are no nationally agreed guidelines for this cohort, nor additional funding available, resulting in wide disparities of care. Potential benefits of the research will be a better understanding of womens' expectations which providers can use to improve empathic and consistent care and increase service user satisfaction. The study design necessitates a qualitative methodology with descriptive phenomenological approach. Semi structured, anonymised interviews will be carried out, with up to ten individual women within six weeks of giving birth. This will be in a location of their choice (likely their own home) and last approximately an hour. No other involvement would be required. Purposive sampling will be used: First time mothers who are over forty years of age at delivery, with a baby born after thirty-seven weeks gestation ("term") will be included. Women who have been cared for by the interviewer, suffered stillbirth or not had UK antenatal care will be excluded. Potential participants will be from a single District General Hospital. They will be identified by community midwives after birth and offered Patient Information Sheets. The research is being carried out by a Registered Midwife for an MSc dissertation in Delivering Quality Healthcare.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
19/ES/0048
Date of REC Opinion
29 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion