“Will I ever recover?”, Women’s experiences and perceptions of mental health following pregnancy and birth complications: A qualitative study

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorBodunde, Elizabeth O.
dc.contributor.authorKhashan, Ali S.
dc.contributor.authorMcCarthy, Fergus P.
dc.contributor.authorO’Connor, Karen
dc.contributor.authorMatvienko-Sikar, Karen
dc.contributor.funderHealth Research Board Ireland
dc.date.accessioned2026-10-20T15:04:01Z
dc.date.available2026-10-20T15:04:01Z
dc.date.issued2026-06-25
dc.description.abstractBackground Experiencing complications in pregnancy and birth is often associated with poor postpartum health outcomes and can have lasting consequences for women. Understanding women’s subjective experiences of pregnancy and/or birth complications and how they feel such experiences impact their current mental health is essential to better inform supports and resources. Aim To explore how women experience and describe their mental health following pregnancy and birth complications in Ireland. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 women from February to May 2024. Participants were purposively sampled. Eligible women were ≥ 18 years of age and had been between 12 months and 5 years since experiencing a pregnancy and/or birth complication. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop themes and subthemes. Findings We developed four main themes: 1) ‘Expectations versus reality’ highlighted the disconnect between women’s hopes for pregnancy and birth, and the unexpected nature of their actual experiences. 2) ‘Unresolved consequences’ reflected women's ongoing psychological and mental health challenges, particularly regarding anxiety and concerns for future pregnancies. 3) ‘Perception of healthcare experiences’ highlighted the importance of effective communication with healthcare providers, 4) ‘Support and systems’ described interpersonal and structural supports, and networks important to women. Conclusion Women’s experiences of mental health following pregnancy and birth complications are impacted by multiple factors throughout their pregnancy and birth journey. To improve the mental health experiences of women who have pregnancy and/or birth complications, access to information, resources, and supports at interpersonal and structural levels is needed.en
dc.description.sponsorshipHealth Research Board
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent9
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid102234
dc.identifier.authororcidBodunde, Elizabeth O.
dc.identifier.authororcidKhashan, Ali S.
dc.identifier.authororcidMcCarthy, Fergus P.§0000-0001-5062-6851
dc.identifier.authororcidO’Connor, Karen
dc.identifier.authororcidMatvienko-Sikar, Karen§0000-0003-2777-6581
dc.identifier.citationBodunde, E O, Khashan, A S, McCarthy, F P, O’Connor, K & Matvienko-Sikar, K 2026, '“Will I ever recover?”, Women’s experiences and perceptions of mental health following pregnancy and birth complications: A qualitative study', Women and Birth, vol. 39, no. 4, 102234, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102234
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102234
dc.identifier.endpage9
dc.identifier.issn1871-5192
dc.identifier.issued4
dc.identifier.journaltitleWomen and Birth
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/19467
dc.identifier.volume39
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier B.V.
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105042790036
dc.rights© 2026, authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Midwives. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectBirth trauma
dc.subjectMaternity service
dc.subjectPregnancy complication experience
dc.subjectWomen’s mental health
dc.subject[PublicHealth]
dc.subject[INFANT]
dc.subject[Medicine]
dc.title“Will I ever recover?”, Women’s experiences and perceptions of mental health following pregnancy and birth complications: A qualitative studyen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
1-s2.0-S1871519226000752-mmc1.docx
Size:
425.09 KB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Published Version
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
1-s2.0-S1871519226000752-main.pdf
Size:
631.1 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published Version
Download
Collections
School of Medicine
INFANT Research Centre
School of Public Health