Single mothers experiences of birth trauma: An IPA approach
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring single mothers' experiences of birth trauma: an interpretative phenomenological approach
IRAS ID
318904
Contact name
Candice Lindsay
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 26 days
Research summary
There currently exists some research exploring women’s experiences of birth trauma. However, the majority of this focuses on ‘typical’ family structures. Over the last several decades, the number of single-parent families has increased, which research has shown to come with increased challenges. Despite this, no research currently exists exploring single mothers’ experiences of birth trauma. Given research suggesting differences in single mothers’ experiences of motherhood and mental health, it appears important to explore their experiences of birth trauma independently. The proposed study therefore aims to understand the experiences of birth trauma from the perspective of single mothers. It hopes to understand how each of the mothers have made sense of their experiences of traumatic births as well as exploring their similarities and differences.
The researcher will do this by holding interviews with around ten single mothers who have experienced a traumatic birth within the last two years. Firstly, possible participants will be approached by NHS clinicians in maternity and perinatal psychology services in NHS Forth Valley and offered information about the study. Should they wish to take part, participants will contact the lead researcher and arrange a phone call to discuss any questions and discuss and take consent. Following this, interviews will be arranged over video or telephone call and the researcher will ask questions about their experiences of being a single mother and birth trauma. The conversation will take between 30 to 90 minutes and will be recorded and written up. The researcher will then analyse the data by exploring any patterns within them.
It is hoped that this study will add to the growing research around birth trauma and perinatal mental health generally. This could help shape our understanding of how best to support this group and shape and deliver our NHS services as best as possible.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
23/ES/0007
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion