A new research study looking at the emotional wellbeing of pregnant women is being conducted in WA and pregnant women in the region are invited to take part.
Rural Clinical School of WA senior lecturer Sarah Moore said pregnancy was a time of change and when people became pregnant they were often going through lots of life changes.
“They might be building a house, moving or marking changes to their career so there is a lot stress that comes with being pregnant,” she said.
“Consequently there could be a lot of emotional and mental health issues associated with that, and we know from research that can impact not only the mum but also the baby’s brain development and behaviour when they are children.”
Dr Moore said they wanted to enroll women who were less than 20 weeks pregnant to follow them through their pregnancy, which would involve completing a survey.
The survey would ask participants questions about their emotional wellbeing, sleep, any stresses, relationships and other factors which could impact their emotional wellbeing.
The research will look at different groups including women who had no previous mental health history, women who have a mental health history and women who are on medication for their mental health.
The study will look at whether factors are protect their mental health or create risks for them and then follow up with the women after they had their baby.
“We will also ask them about their baby’s behaviour, sleep and medical issues,” she said.
“Hopefully when we collect all the data it will give us some useful information we can take back to women and say we know this is good for yourself and baby’s health and these things will have a negative impact.”
For more information about the study please contact 08 6151 1193 or email Dr Moore at sarah.j.moore@rcswa.edu.au.
