‘Nesting networks’: women's experiences of social network support in high-risk pregnancy
‘Nesting networks’: women's experiences of social network support in high-risk pregnancy
Objective: social support, an individual's social relationships (both online and offline), may provide protection against adverse mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, which are high in women who have been hospitalised with high-risk pregnancy. This study explored the social support available to women at higher risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy by examining personal social networks.
Design: semi-structured interviews were accompanied by social network mapping using the web-based social networking tool GENIE. Setting: England.
Participants: twenty-one women were recruited, of whom 18 were interviewed both during pregnancy and postnatally between April 2019 and April 2020. Nineteen women completed maps pre-natally, 17 women completed maps pre-natally and post-natally. Women were taking part in the BUMP study, a randomised clinical trial that included 2441 pregnant individuals at higher risk of preeclampsia and recruited at a mean of 20 weeks’ gestation from 15 hospital maternity units in England between November 2018 and October 2019.
Results: women's social networks tightened during pregnancy. The inner network changed most dramatically postnatally with women reporting fewer network members. Interviews revealed networks were primarily ‘real-life’ rather than online social networks, with members providing emotional, informational, and practical support. Women with a high-risk pregnancy valued the relationships they developed with health professionals during pregnancy, and would like their midwife to have a more central role in their networks by providing informational and, where needed, emotional support. The social network mapping data supported the qualitative accounts of changing networks across high-risk pregnancy.
Conclusion: women with a high-risk pregnancy seek to build “nesting networks” to support them through pregnancy into motherhood. Different types of support are sought from trusted sources. Midwives can play a key role. Practice Implications: As well as highlighting other potential needs during pregnancy and the ways in which they can be met, support from midwives has a key role. Through talking to women early in their pregnancy, signposting information and explaining ways to contact health professionals regarding informational or emotional support would fill a gap that currently is met by other aspects of their network.
High-risk pregnancy, Midwives, Network mapping, Networks, Qualitative, Social support
Hinton, Lisa
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Dumelow, C.
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Hodgkinson, J.
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Montgomery, C.
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Martin, A.
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Allen, Christopher
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Tucker, K.
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Green, M.E.
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Wilson, H.
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McManus, R.
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Chappell, L.C.
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Band, R.
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17 March 2023
Hinton, Lisa
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Dumelow, C.
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Hodgkinson, J.
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Montgomery, C.
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Martin, A.
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Allen, Christopher
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Tucker, K.
d65f0104-1ab3-4acc-a890-9fc077a68fe4
Green, M.E.
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Wilson, H.
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McManus, R.
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Chappell, L.C.
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Band, R.
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Hinton, Lisa, Dumelow, C., Hodgkinson, J., Montgomery, C., Martin, A., Allen, Christopher, Tucker, K., Green, M.E., Wilson, H., McManus, R., Chappell, L.C. and Band, R.
(2023)
‘Nesting networks’: women's experiences of social network support in high-risk pregnancy.
Midwifery, 120, [103622].
(doi:10.1016/j.midw.2023.103622).
Abstract
Objective: social support, an individual's social relationships (both online and offline), may provide protection against adverse mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, which are high in women who have been hospitalised with high-risk pregnancy. This study explored the social support available to women at higher risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy by examining personal social networks.
Design: semi-structured interviews were accompanied by social network mapping using the web-based social networking tool GENIE. Setting: England.
Participants: twenty-one women were recruited, of whom 18 were interviewed both during pregnancy and postnatally between April 2019 and April 2020. Nineteen women completed maps pre-natally, 17 women completed maps pre-natally and post-natally. Women were taking part in the BUMP study, a randomised clinical trial that included 2441 pregnant individuals at higher risk of preeclampsia and recruited at a mean of 20 weeks’ gestation from 15 hospital maternity units in England between November 2018 and October 2019.
Results: women's social networks tightened during pregnancy. The inner network changed most dramatically postnatally with women reporting fewer network members. Interviews revealed networks were primarily ‘real-life’ rather than online social networks, with members providing emotional, informational, and practical support. Women with a high-risk pregnancy valued the relationships they developed with health professionals during pregnancy, and would like their midwife to have a more central role in their networks by providing informational and, where needed, emotional support. The social network mapping data supported the qualitative accounts of changing networks across high-risk pregnancy.
Conclusion: women with a high-risk pregnancy seek to build “nesting networks” to support them through pregnancy into motherhood. Different types of support are sought from trusted sources. Midwives can play a key role. Practice Implications: As well as highlighting other potential needs during pregnancy and the ways in which they can be met, support from midwives has a key role. Through talking to women early in their pregnancy, signposting information and explaining ways to contact health professionals regarding informational or emotional support would fill a gap that currently is met by other aspects of their network.
Text
Nesting networks_manuscript R1 20-11-22_revised_clean
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 3 February 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 17 February 2023
Published date: 17 March 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
LH currently works at the THIS Institute, which is supported by the Health Foundation , an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and healthcare for people in the UK.
Funding Information:
The BUMP trials were funded from a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme grant for applied research ( RP-PG-1209–10051 ).
Funding Information:
RM and KT received funding from the National Institute for Health Research ( NIHR ) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research ( CLAHRC ) Oxford, now recommissioned as NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley (ARCOxTV).
Keywords:
High-risk pregnancy, Midwives, Network mapping, Networks, Qualitative, Social support
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 477227
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477227
ISSN: 0266-6138
PURE UUID: 10586558-7793-4368-ae28-4cf8fff9be49
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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2023 16:50
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 07:43
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Contributors
Author:
Lisa Hinton
Author:
C. Dumelow
Author:
J. Hodgkinson
Author:
C. Montgomery
Author:
A. Martin
Author:
K. Tucker
Author:
M.E. Green
Author:
H. Wilson
Author:
R. McManus
Author:
L.C. Chappell
Author:
R. Band
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