Mothers with mental health problems: Contrasting experiences of support within maternity services in the Republic of Ireland

Objective: to explore the views and experiences of women with mental health difficulties, in the Republic of Ireland, accessing and receiving care from publicly-funded maternity care services during pregnancy, childbirth and immediate postnatal period in hospital. Participants: in total 20 women with a range of mental health problems were recruited. The women had given birth within maternity services with and without specialist perinatal mental health services. Design: a qualitative descriptive design using in-depth face to face interviews was used to explore women's experience. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic process. Findings: the study offers valuable insights into the maternity care experiences of women with mental health problems, and highlights the deficits and fragmentation of care in maternity units that do not have a specialist mental health service. Even when the women voluntarily disclosed their difficulties, midwives appeared to lack the knowledge and skills to respond sensitively and responsively. Key conclusions and implications for practice: there is a need to expand perinatal mental health services in the Republic of Ireland, so that quality service provision is not dependent on geography. In addition, there is a need for education to address the lack of knowledge and understanding of perinatal mental health problems amongst maternity care practitioners.