ArticleBMC psychiatry2025
"I ask them what autism means for them": a qualitative study of staff experiences of working with autistic women and birthing people in community perinatal mental health teams.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- 'She's so knowledgeable about autism': autistic women and birthing people's experiences of specialist perinatal mental health teams.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- Correction: "I ask them what autism means for them": a qualitative study of staff experiences of working with autistic women and birthing people in community perinatal mental health teams.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Communication barriers in perinatal care for autistic women: A qualitative study using the hermeneutic-dialectic circle in Brazil.PloS one · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAutistic women and birthing people (AWBP) face an increased risk of perinatal mental health issues and may be referred to Community Perinatal Mental Health Teams (CPMHTs). However, staff members of CPMHTs often lack sufficient training and knowledge about autism, leading to barriers in providing appropriate care. To date, no studies have examined the experiences of staff supporting autistic women and birthing people within CPMHTs.
methodsWe carried out individual qualitative interviews with 20 staff members from different professional backgrounds across four CPMHTs in England to understand their experiences working with AWBP and to identify how CPMHTs could better meet their needs. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings.
resultsWe identified four key themes: (1) recognizing the complexities of AWBP, (2) addressing the unique needs of AWBP (3) varying levels of knowledge and understanding across both the CPMHTs and individual clinicians, and (4) envisioning improvements for the future. Staff reported that working with AWBP was an unexpected aspect of their roles, further complicated by difficulties in accessing autism assessments for those who had not yet received a formal diagnosis. They highlighted both barriers to providing appropriate care and the adjustments they could make to improve their practice. Additionally, staff expressed a need for targeted training and suggested other areas for development, including appointing an autism champion, employing autistic peer support workers, and involving individuals with lived experience of autism and perinatal mental health challenges in co-producing service improvements.
conclusionsWorking with AWBP is a current area of challenge for CPMHTs. Perinatal-focused autism training and expert supervision are important for staff to feel confident in making appropriate adaptions to care to provide the best possible support.
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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.