ReviewThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2017
Seeking help for perinatal psychological distress: a meta-synthesis of women's experiences.
Review in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Women's Experiences of Screening and Assessment of Mental Health Problems in the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions to improve mental help-seeking behaviours in individuals with depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Assessing the Mental Health of Fathers, Other Co-parents, and Partners in the Perinatal Period: Mixed Methods Evidence Synthesis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- A technology-enabled service for perinatal collaborative care models: A randomized clinical trial.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Barriers to accessing treatment in perinatal depression: a qualitative and quantitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Health care across the first year postpartum and experiences of women with anxiety/depressive symptoms: A longitudinal cohort of first-time mothers in Ireland (MAMMI).Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Access and barriers to treatment and counseling for postpartum women with and without symptoms of (CB-)PTSD within the cross-sectional study INVITE.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Article
- Experiences of early parenthood in and beyond the coronavirus pandemic: a qualitative study with expectant and new mothers.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Associated factors of barriers to help-seeking among postpartum women with and without (childbirth-related) posttraumatic stress disorder: results from the cross-sectional study INVITE.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Support preferences among women with and without postpartum depression and anxiety disorder.BMC public health · 2025Article
- High Antenatal Psychosocial Risk Among Pregnant Women in Bulgaria: Evidence to Support Routine Mental-Health Screening.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Mental health service utilization among pregnant and postpartum women: status, determinants, and insights from a mixed-methods study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Chatbot to Support the Mental Health Needs of Pregnant and Postpartum Women (Moment for Parents): Design and Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- An integrative review of how midwives are screening and assessing for trauma in women within perinatal services.PloS one · 2025Review
- Factors influencing the intention of women with perinatal depression and their spouses to seek professional psychological help: a cross-sectional latent profile analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Treatment and counselling preferences of postpartum women with and without symptoms of (childbirth-related) PTSD: findings of the cross-sectional study INVITE.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Understanding the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and neglect and psychological distress in pregnant women: the role of prenatal attachment.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- A Chatbot (Juno) Prototype to Deploy a Behavioral Activation Intervention to Pregnant Women: Qualitative Evaluation Using a Multiple Case Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Are midwives trained to recognise perinatal depression symptoms? Results of MAMA (MAternal Mood Assessment) cross-sectional survey in Italy.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWomen may not seek help for perinatal psychological distress, despite regular contact with primary care services. Barriers include ignorance of symptoms, inability to disclose distress, others' attitudes, and cultural expectations. Much of the evidence has been obtained from North American populations and may not, therefore, extrapolate to the UK.
aimTo understand the factors affecting women's decision to seek help for perinatal distress. DESIGN AND
settingMeta-synthesis of the available published qualitative evidence on UK women's experiences of seeking help for perinatal distress.
methodSystematic searches were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Databases searched were PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL, and Academic Search Complete. Searches of grey literature and references were also conducted. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported qualitative data on UK women's experiences of perinatal distress and contact with healthcare professionals. The synthesis was conducted using meta-ethnography.
resultsIn all, 24 studies were eligible for inclusion. Metasynthesis identified three main themes: identifying a problem, the influence of healthcare professionals, and stigma. These themes build on current understanding of help seeking by identifying the need for women to be able to frame their experience, for healthcare professionals to educate women about their roles, the need for continuity of care, and the way that being seen as a 'bad mother' causes women to self-silence.
conclusionPerinatal care provision needs to allow for continuity of care and for staff training that facilitates awareness of factors that influence women's help seeking. Further research is required, particularly in relation to effective means of identifying perinatal psychological distress.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.