One in five pregnant women have two or more active long-term health conditions. These can be both physical conditions (like diabetes or raised blood pressure), and mental health conditions (such as depression or anxiety). Often, they also take several medications to manage their different health needs. Having two or more health conditions is becoming increasingly common during pregnancy, as women are increasingly older when they start a family and as obesity and mental health conditions are on the rise, in general. This can make pregnancy, healthcare and managing medications more complicated.
To date, there is very little research exploring the experiences and care of these women. This study is part of a larger research programme which aims to characterise and understand the determinants and consequences of multiple pre-existing conditions in pregnant women; and to predict and prevent multimorbidity and its adverse consequences for women, their babies and families. This qualitative study will use in-depth interviews to better understand these experiences during pregnancy, birth and after birth; so that care and pathways can be improved to better meet the needs of women, their babies, and families.
This is a 3-year study funded by the MRC, and is led by joint principal investigators Prof Louise Locock and Dr Beck Taylor (University of Birmingham).
Contacts
- Louise Locock; louise.locock@abdn.ac.uk
Status
OngoingPublications
Lee, SI, Hanley, S, Vowles, Z, Plachcinski, R, Moss, N, Singh, M, Gale, C, Fagbamigbe, AF, Azcoaga-Lorenzo, A, Subramanian, A, Taylor, B, Nelson-Piercy, C, Damase-Michel, C, Yau, C, McCowan, C, O'Reilly, D, Santorelli, G, Dolk, H, Hope, H, Phillips, K, Abel, KM, Eastwood, KA, Kent, L, Locock, L, Loane, M, Mhereeg, M, Brocklehurst, P, McCann, S, Brophy, S, Wambua, S, Sudasinghe, SPB, Thangaratinam, S, Nirantharakumar, K, Black, M & MuM-PreDiCT Group 2023, 'The development of a core outcome set for studies of pregnant women with multimorbidity', BMC medicine , vol. 21, 314. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03013-3
Lee, SI, Hanley, S, Vowles, Z, Plachcinski, R, Azcoaga-Lorenzo, A, Taylor, B, Nelson-Piercy, C, McCowan, C, O'Reilly, D, Hope, H, Abel, KM, Eastwood, KA, Locock, L, Singh, M, Moss, N, Brophy, S, Nirantharakumar, K, Thangaratinam, S & Black, M 2023, 'Key outcomes for reporting in studies of pregnant women with multiple long-term conditions and their children: a qualitative study', BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol. 23, no. 1, 551. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-05773-5
Lee SI, Hanley S, Vowles Z et al. The development of a core outcome set for studies of pregnant women with multimorbidity. BMC Med 21, 314 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03013-3
Lee SI, Hanley S, Vowles Z et al. Key outcomes for reporting in studies of pregnant women with multiple long-term conditions: a qualitative study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 23, 551 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-05773-5
Subramanian, A, Azcoaga-Lorenzo, A, Anand, A, Phillips, K, Lee, SI, Cockburn, N, Fagbamigbe, AF, Damase-Michel, C, Yau, C, McCowan, C, O'Reilly, D, Santorelli, G, Hope, H, Kennedy, JI, Abel, KM, Eastwood, K-A, Locock, L, Black, M, Loane, M, Moss, N, Plachcinski, R, Thangaratinam, S, Brophy, S, Agrawal, U, Vowles, Z, Brocklehurst, P, Dolk, H, Nelson-Piercy, C, Nirantharakumar, K & MuM-PreDiCT Group 2023, 'Polypharmacy during pregnancy and associated risk factors: a retrospective analysis of 577 medication exposures among 1.5 million pregnancies in the UK, 2000-2019', BMC medicine , vol. 21, no. 1, 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02722-5
Lee SI, Eastwood KA, Moss N, Azcoaga-Lorenzo A, Subramanian A, Anand A, Taylor B, Nelson-Piercy C, Yau C, McCowan C, O'Reilly D, Hope H, Kennedy JI, Abel KM, Locock L, Brocklehurst P, Plachcinski R, Brophy S, Agrawal U, Thangaratinam S, Nirantharakumar K, Black M. Protocol for the development of a core outcome set for studies of pregnant women with pre-existing multimorbidity BMJ Open, vol. 11, e044919. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044919