MAP ALLIANCE investigates PTSD

The information our participants provided about their experience of pregnancy, birth and life with their child led our research funders NIHR to give the team further funding to continue analysing the information. This time we’re focusing on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

We aim to find answers to some important questions, like how many women are affected by PTSD after birth? What services do they turn to and what do those services cost? This will help us to make recommendations to policy makers, health service planners and healthcare professionals about the best way to reduce PTSD and to support women during pregnancy, birth, and after birth.

This vital work has already begun. Last year, our team leader Professor Susan Ayers was invited to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Birth Trauma. The APPG published a report calling for significant improvements to services to help prevent and manage birth-related trauma and PTSD. So our participants contribution to this research is already making a difference and will continue to do so when we publish our results.

Further details of the MAP ALLIANCE birth-related PTSD study are available here.

You can read the APPG Birth Trauma report here.

Susan Ayers has also written an article about birth trauma for The Conversation, which you can read here.

If you're looking for mental health support, you'll find a list of resources here.