Women's Mental Health
Perinatal mental health has a major impact on women and their families, including maternal morbidity and mortality, obstetric complications, neonatal and infant death, and adverse outcomes for both mother, child and the family. We use mixed methods, including epidemiological and qualitative research, systematic reviews, development and evaluation of therapies, development of clinical management guidelines to improve outcomes for pregnant women and their children, analysis of the biological correlates of perinatal mental disorders, and investigation into the impact on parenting skills and long-term offspring development.
In addition we are carrying out a number of research projects on domestic violence, including examining the response of mental health services to domestic violence (LARA), carrying out systematic reviews on the prevalence of domestic violence experienced by mental health users, and epidemiological research investigating the impact of antenatal domestic violence on women's mental health antenatally and postnatally and the impact this has on child development using the ALSPAC cohort.
We evaluate complex interventions for women with mental health problems including women's crisis houses (CHOICES), mother and baby units (ALTERNATIVES study; ESMI study) and health visitor delivered non-directive counselling RESPOND. We lead on gender aspects of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust /Institute of Psychiatry Biomedical Research Centre Stakeholder Participation Theme and are investigating the impact of stigma on women's mental health (SAPPHIRE).
Studies include
- barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation in pregnant women with mental disorders
- pregnancy decision making of women with bipolar disorder
- the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of perinatal psychiatric services (ESMI study)
- development of outcome measures for pregnant women with mental health problems (CAN-M)
- epidemiological and biological research into foetal, infant and child outcomes including neonatal deaths, sudden infant death syndrome and childhood behaviour
- a multi-centre RCT comparing the effectiveness of antidepressants compared with a health visitor delivered psychosocial intervention for postnatal depression
- national surveys of existing perinatal mental health services
- systematic reviews of treatments for perinatal psychiatric disorders
- violence, migration and mental disorders in women
- gender differences in risk factors and outcomes in psychosis.
