City Research Online

Abstract

Background: Anxiety in pregnancy and postnatally is highly prevalent but under-recognised. To identify perinatal anxiety, assessment tools must be acceptable to women who are pregnant or postnatal.

Methods: A qualitative study of women’s experiences of anxiety and mental health assessment during pregnancy and after birth, and views on the acceptability of perinatal anxiety assessment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 pregnant or postnatal women. Results were analysed using Sekhon et al.’s (2017) acceptability framework, as well as inductive coding of new or emergent themes.

Results: Women’s perceptions of routine assessment for perinatal anxiety were generally favourable. Most participants thought assessment was needed, and that the benefits outweighed potential negative impacts, such as unnecessary referrals to specialist services. Three themes were identified of: Raising awareness and improving support; Surveillance and stratifying care; Personalising care and building trust. Assessment was seen as a tool for raising awareness about mental health during the perinatal period, and a mechanism for normalising discussions about mental health more generally. However, views on questionnaire assessments themselves were mixed, with some participants feeling they could become an administrative “tick box” exercise that depersonalises care and does not provide a space to discuss mental health problems.

Conclusion: Routine assessment of perinatal anxiety was generally viewed as positive and acceptable; however, this was qualified by the extent to which it was informed and personalised as a process. Approaches to assessment should ideally be flexible, tailored across the perinatal period and embedded in continuity of care.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Health Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	anxiety; screening; assessment; acceptability; pregnancy; postnatal
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Midwifery & Radiography
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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