Maternal Postnatal Check in Primary Care
A qualitative study of the 6-8 week maternal postnatal check in primary care.
The study will explore the views and experiences of women who have given birth in the last year, and GPs working in the UK through focus group discussions and interviews.
All women in England should be offered an appointment in their GP practice around 6-8 weeks after giving birth to review their own health. We are researching the views of women and GPs about this appointment to find out what works well, and what could be improved.
We plan to explore the views and experiences of women who have given birth in the last year, and GPs working in the UK through focus group discussions and interviews.
This work is being completed as part of Clare Macdonald’s PhD. Clare is researching the 6-8 week maternal postnatal check and how to improve it.
Clare’s PhD supervisors are:
Dr Beck Taylor, Professor Christine MacArthur and Professor Debra Bick
This study aims to develop an understanding of the facilitators and barriers to GPs of providing a high quality 6-8 week maternal postnatal check through exploration of the views and experiences of GPs and people who have given birth.
The findings from this study will inform the development of a questionnaire that will be used in a study surveying a large group of GPs to build a broader understanding of current practice and professional experience in postnatal care.
Why is this research needed?
There are approximately 700 000 births per year in England and Wales. All women who have given birth should be offered an appointment with a GP around 6-8 weeks later. Although many GPs have been routinely arranging such reviews for decades, it has only been compulsory since 2020.
The weeks and months after giving birth are a high-risk time for developing new physical and mental health problems, and a crucial time to follow-up complications of pregnancy and birth. It is therefore important that the 6-8 week postnatal check is as effective as possible at addressing and managing these issues.
We know from previous research that women have varied experiences at their postnatal check, but we know far less about how GPs feel about their role and what they need to be able to provide high quality care.
Recruitment to this study has closed, and the data collection is complete. Once the results are available, we will update this page.