ISSF Health and Wellbeing in Pregnancy

Using a range of participatory research methods, the research aimed to glean in-depth understandings of issues around health and wellbeing in pregnancy for women living in poverty in areas of deprivation.

The research will be used to inform future healthy pregnancy intervention development.

Research was carried out with ten pregnant women from deprived areas in South East Wales who were recruited via community groups and Communities First.  On recruitment the women were less than 30 weeks pregnant, and in receipt of benefits or tax credits.  Women were interviewed at two points in their pregnancy. Prior to the first interview the women created a timeline which facilitated a life history interview (Mannay and Creaghan, 2016). Prior to the second interview the women were sent a collage kit. During the second interview the women used collages and a sandboxing technique to illustrate the impact of pregnancy on their everyday lives and facilitate discussion around this topic (Mannay and Edwards, 2013).

The visual ethnographic methods adopted ensured more equal power relations between the participant and researcher, and allowed new understandings to be developed.  In addition to providing understandings of multiple health behaviours in pregnancy, including diet, alcohol and smoking, the data also illustrates the often momentous, identity transitions occasioned by pregnancy and motherhood through changes in everyday practices and relationships.