Professor Abigail Easter
Professor of Women’s Mental Health
Biography
Abigail Easter is Professor of Women’s Mental Health in the Department of Women & Children’s Health at King’s College London and Co-Lead of the Maternal and Perinatal Systems and Policy (MAPS) Research Group.
She is an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in psychology, psychological medicine and implementation science. Her research focuses on women’s mental health across the life course, with particular expertise in pregnancy, maternity and the postnatal period. Her work examines the interactions between mental and physical health and the psychological, social and structural conditions that shape women’s health, experiences and outcomes.
She completed her PhD in Psychological Medicine at King’s College London, examining the impact of maternal eating disorders on pregnancy, birth and child health, and subsequently completed a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Implementation Science.
Research
Her interdisciplinary research brings together psychology, epidemiology, implementation science, qualitative and mixed methods, evidence synthesis and population data. A central focus of her work is understanding and reducing inequalities in women’s access to, experiences of and outcomes from health and care services, and translating research evidence into improvements in policy, services and practice.
She leads and collaborates on research spanning access to perinatal mental health support, maternal suicide prevention, maternal mental health services, maternity care and social adversity, and the development and implementation of interventions for women experiencing complex health and social circumstances. Her research is developed in partnership with women with lived experience, NHS and social care services, voluntary and community organisations, policymakers and researchers nationally and internationally.
She was Co-Lead of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South London Maternity and Perinatal Mental Health Theme from 2022-2026 and currently co-leads MAPS, an interdisciplinary research group focused on improving maternal and perinatal health and reducing inequalities through research spanning policy, systems and implementation.
Knowledge Mobilisation and Impact
Her research has contributed to national and international policy and practice in women’s and perinatal mental health, including work informing NHS England, UK Government and World Health Organization policy and guidance. She works closely with policymakers, health and social care organisations and voluntary-sector partners to strengthen the translation of research evidence into policy and practice.
Her knowledge mobilisation and public engagement work includes creative and participatory approaches developed with women and communities. This includes the MORE Photovoice Project, which used photography and personal narratives to explore experiences of maternity care, and the Health Foundation-funded Eating Disorders and Pregnancy programme, which translated research on maternal eating disorders into training resources for healthcare professionals.
She has particular interests in maternal suicide prevention, improving access to mental health support, inequalities in maternal and perinatal health, and strengthening connections between maternity, mental health and social care systems.
Education and Research Capacity
Abigail leads the Perinatal Mental Health module at King’s College London, teaching undergraduate and MSc students, and contributes to teaching across women’s mental health, research methods, implementation science, self-harm and suicide, and eating disorders. Her teaching takes an interdisciplinary approach to women’s mental health, integrating mental and physical health, psychological and social perspectives, health inequalities and lived experience.
She supervises research at MSc and doctoral level and is committed to developing research capacity in women’s mental health through interdisciplinary training, mentorship and support for early-career researchers and clinical academics.
Research interests
- Women’s mental health across the life course
- Maternal and perinatal mental health
- Mental and physical health
- Health inequalities and social determinants
- Health and care systems
- Implementation science and knowledge mobilisation
- Maternal suicide and suicide prevention
- Eating disorders and reproductive health
Other associations:
Research
Post-pandemic for maternity care for local, regional, and national maternity systems across the four nations
Post-pandemic for maternity care for local, regional, and national maternity systems across the four nations
Maternal And Child Health Systems and Policy Research (MAPS)
The Maternal and Perinatal Systems and Policy (MAPS) Research Group assumes a life-course approach which is engaged with basic and clinical science research that has the potential to improve health care quality and outcomes from bench to population health, through policy relevant world class evidence synthesis, implementation and service delivery research.
Nurturing and Empowering future parents through Support and Treatment (NEST)
This research investigates how to support individuals of reproductive age in contact with mental health services improve planning and fitness for pregnancy.
Project status: Ongoing
News
King's academics respond to Baroness Amos' interim report on maternity services
The report was commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to investigate NHS maternity and neonatal services in England.
"I can't do another day": Research spotlights women's experiences of maternal suicide attempts
Researchers at King’s College London conducted extensive interviews with women who attempted suicide during pregnancy or shortly after birth. They found three...
New guidance published on how best to support qualitative researchers
The guidance has been developed to protect and support qualitative researchers who conduct research and analyse data on sensitive, challenging, and difficult...
Pregnant women with serious mental illnesses found to be at higher risk of renal failure, heart attacks and embolisms around childbirth
New research from King’s College London shows that women with serious mental illnesses (SMI) which required specialist care were more likely to have a...
Features
Prioritising maternal mental health through research
Mental illness during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth affects one in four mothers. It is known as perinatal mental illness and can include...
Mental disorders are common for new parents – you don't have to go through it alone
Many new mothers experience mental disorders, and this can be an extremely distressing and stigmatising experience.
Spotlight
Prioritising maternal mental health through research
Mental illness during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth affects one in four mothers. It is known as perinatal mental illness and can include...
Research
Post-pandemic for maternity care for local, regional, and national maternity systems across the four nations
Post-pandemic for maternity care for local, regional, and national maternity systems across the four nations
Maternal And Child Health Systems and Policy Research (MAPS)
The Maternal and Perinatal Systems and Policy (MAPS) Research Group assumes a life-course approach which is engaged with basic and clinical science research that has the potential to improve health care quality and outcomes from bench to population health, through policy relevant world class evidence synthesis, implementation and service delivery research.
Nurturing and Empowering future parents through Support and Treatment (NEST)
This research investigates how to support individuals of reproductive age in contact with mental health services improve planning and fitness for pregnancy.
Project status: Ongoing
News
King's academics respond to Baroness Amos' interim report on maternity services
The report was commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to investigate NHS maternity and neonatal services in England.
"I can't do another day": Research spotlights women's experiences of maternal suicide attempts
Researchers at King’s College London conducted extensive interviews with women who attempted suicide during pregnancy or shortly after birth. They found three...
New guidance published on how best to support qualitative researchers
The guidance has been developed to protect and support qualitative researchers who conduct research and analyse data on sensitive, challenging, and difficult...
Pregnant women with serious mental illnesses found to be at higher risk of renal failure, heart attacks and embolisms around childbirth
New research from King’s College London shows that women with serious mental illnesses (SMI) which required specialist care were more likely to have a...
Features
Prioritising maternal mental health through research
Mental illness during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth affects one in four mothers. It is known as perinatal mental illness and can include...
Mental disorders are common for new parents – you don't have to go through it alone
Many new mothers experience mental disorders, and this can be an extremely distressing and stigmatising experience.
Spotlight
Prioritising maternal mental health through research
Mental illness during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth affects one in four mothers. It is known as perinatal mental illness and can include...