My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Parenting

What is it normal to think/feel as a new mum? Can you help?

8 replies

lawnowl · 24/05/2016 16:36

Hello all,

I'm hoping you can help me. I am currently doing some research about common thoughts and feelings in the early months after having a baby. The aim is to find out more about what it's like to be a new mum.

I am looking for mothers who have a baby aged between 2 months and 11 months old to fill in a 10 minute questionnaire. Would anyone be able to help?

westminsterpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bpDY1gZi3l2S9YV

You must live in the UK or Ireland to take part.

Thank you all very much.

p.s. I'm based at the University of Westminster and the study has been granted ethical approval. There's more information on the link above.

OP posts:
Report
MyBreadIsEggy · 24/05/2016 16:38

The link doesn't work....

Report
lawnowl · 24/05/2016 16:42

Thanks for letting me know. It works on my laptop. How weird.

Here's another attempt:
westminsterpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bpDY1gZi3l2S9YV

OP posts:
Report
ButteredUp · 24/05/2016 16:47

Besides the link not working, what's with the 'normal' in the title? If this is repeated in the title or language actually used in a student survey which is presumably purely exploratory, surely you shouldn't be designating some thoughts as 'normal' and others not, especially in women who are going through a vulnerable time?

Report
lawnowl · 24/05/2016 17:01

Hi ButteredUp.
The research is certainly not meant to designate some thoughts as 'normal' and others as not. I should have used the word 'common' in the title instead.

This is an excerpt from the info about the study which may explain more:

Early motherhood is an intense and emotional time. There is surprisingly little research, however, on the common thoughts and worries that new mothers experience.

We hope this research will help find out more about the type of thoughts and worries that are common in early motherhood and how these thoughts are related to feelings.

If we know more about what mothers commonly think, feel and worry about in the early months we may be able to help prepare women for these thoughts and feelings before they give birth. This may help new mothers to have a more positive psychological experience of the first few weeks and months.

OP posts:
Report
ButteredUp · 24/05/2016 17:29

Well, that sounds far more reasonable. I was simply worried that the survey was pre-'normalising' certain experiences of new motherhood at the expense of others by using language that sounded biased.

Good luck with the survey.

Report
lawnowl · 24/05/2016 17:43

Thanks

OP posts:
Report
AJ279 · 24/05/2016 20:01

Can I ask why you're excluding all Mental health issues?

Report
squizita · 25/05/2016 11:17

"Any other mental health issue"

  1. So someone with say a serious phobia (lifelong) of spiders can't relate her parenting experience? This needs rephrasing it's bizarre.
  2. In terms of (rather telling faux pas, but rather shocking from someone doing a Msc in psychology) 'normal', 1 in 4 people have MH issues at some time. A huge swathe of so called "normal" mums with "normal" attitudes (i.e. not PND) will be excluded.
  3. This is stigmatising (e.g if you were doing something on vaginal comfort after childbirth, you wouldn't exclude people with broken fingers or upper back pain because those are physical conditions...).
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.