Researchers in Trinity have found that not enough women seek help for health problems experienced during pregnancy such as depression, anxiety and incontinence, and that health professionals do not ask enough about these issues.
The results of Trinity’s Maternal Health and Maternal Morbidity in Ireland study were presented today at an international conference, hosted by Trinity’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, which focused on problems faced by women during pregnancy and after the birth of their baby.
The conference, entitled “Improving Maternal Health: From Evidence into Action”, brought together an expert panel of researchers and national health policymakers.
The Maternal Health and Maternal Morbidity in Ireland study was longitudinal and focused on the health of first-time mothers in Ireland. Its latest research offers new data on the problems women experience during pregnancy and after their baby’s birth, such as depression, anxiety, incontinence and sexual health issues.
In a press statement, Dr Patrick Moran, a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, said: “Now is a crucial time in the history of maternity care in Ireland – the HSE is currently working to implement the Maternity Strategy, which is intended to deliver a new and better maternity service for the decades ahead.”
“It is really important that the women who have experience of needing these services contribute to the conversations and debates about how they are designed and delivered. Too often women’s voices are absent in policy discussions and this is one of the major challenges in developing the type of woman-centred care envisaged in the Maternity Strategy”, Moran said.
The conference will hear four women discuss their own experiences with the Irish maternity services, and will examine how it is possible to translate the data generated by studies such as Trinity’s into practical ways of improving maternal healthcare.
Guest speakers at the conference include Prof Cecily Begley, the Chair of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity, and Dr Deirdre Daly, who led the Maternal Health And Maternal Morbidity in Ireland study, as well as speakers from abroad such as Prof Stephanie Brown from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia.
