Mental health problems during pregnancy can have significant consequences for women and families. While social support and social connection are associated with better perinatal mental health, gaps remain in understanding how and why these relationships operate, for whom, and how they are shaped by social, cultural and maternity care contexts.

The aim of MATERNITY CONNECT is to understand how social connection and support influence mental wellbeing and vulnerability to mental health problems during pregnancy. It will identify potentially modifiable social and relational mechanisms and explore how these are shaped by women’s social circumstances, communities and experiences of maternity care.

This mixed methods PhD will comprise three linked phases. Phase 1 will characterise NHS group antenatal provision across the UK through a national survey. The survey will examine provision relevant to mental health and social connection, including opportunities for peer interaction and support, accessibility, culturally responsive provision, mental health content and routes to additional support, establishing how provision varies across maternity services. Phase 2 will use semi-structured interviews with women from diverse communities across the East Midlands to explore how social connection and mental wellbeing develop during pregnancy. It will look at processes including connection and isolation, relationships with peers and professionals, community resources, help-seeking and experiences of maternity care, with attention to socioeconomic and cultural circumstances. Recruitment through community organisations and Family Hubs will support inclusion of under-represented perspectives. Phase 3 will integrate findings with existing evidence and involve women, community and third-sector organisations, Family Hub practitioners, midwives, mental health professionals and researchers to identify and refine potentially modifiable mechanisms.

MATERNITY CONNECT will generate new explanatory knowledge about how social and relational mechanisms influence mental health during pregnancy, for whom and under what circumstances. Findings will provide the scientific foundation for an evidence-informed, culturally responsive intervention blueprint and subsequent evaluation.