This research will find solutions for the related problems of loneliness and mental illness experienced by parents whilst pregnant and the first year after having a baby (the perinatal period). The idea for the project came during my own experience of loneliness and postnatal depression.

Parents are at increased risk for loneliness, especially in the first-year post birth, and the negative impacts of both loneliness and mental illness can have lasting consequences for parents and their children. Parents who most need support might not be able to find it through not knowing where to look, or not being able to afford the options available. Support should be tailored to a parents’ unique situation, including support for fathers, parents of disabled children, adoptive parents, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) parents, parents from ethnic minorities, parents with disabilities or long-term health conditions, and parents with fewer financial resources. Parents who have felt lonely, and practitioners who have worked with those parents, hold vital knowledge to find solutions for perinatal loneliness. Experts on the project supervisory team, and a research advisory group (composed of practitioners and people with lived experience), will support me during this fellowship to:

• Review the published research for potential solutions to perinatal loneliness.
• Talk to people who identify as feeling lonely at two points in their perinatal period to find out if and how they overcome their loneliness, the problems they face, and the ways they cope.
• Talk to practitioners and service users with lived experience to hear their perspectives on the solutions to perinatal loneliness.
• Reflect on these empirical findings with people with a research advisory group and experts to develop a framework for solutions for perinatal loneliness, called a Theory of Change.
• Share the research findings widely to inform policy, practice, and self-help, including through a video, a four-page booklet and publication in a peer reviewed academic journal.
• Create a Perinatal Loneliness Research Group to bring together academics interested in perinatal loneliness to collaborate in future research.
• Become a lived experience researcher in mental health specialising in loneliness.

This website will share:

• Updates about the study
• Opportunities to take part in the study
• Resources for tackling loneliness for new and expecting parent
• Reflections from the research

If you have any questions about the study, please contact me on Ruth.Naughton-Doe@york.