Pregnancy in Mind process evaluation

Key finding

After participating in the eight week service, parents-to-be experienced statistically significant improvements in their mental health:

• 79% of participants saw clinical improvements in their anxiety
• 71% of participants saw clinical improvements in their depression.

Other findings

• Parents reported being more able to manage their mental health after the programme, using techniques and practices learnt in the group.
• There were statistically significant increases in mothers’ connection to their developing baby, with participants attributing this increase to activities done in Pregnancy in Mind groups. It is important to note that an increase in parent-foetal connection is expected a pregnancy progresses, so this result can't be attributed solely to the Pregnancy in Mind programme.
• Some parents reported improvements in the quality of the relationship they had with their partner, although this was not statistically significant.
• Parents reported improved communication with their support networks outside of partner relationships.
• Some single parents found the focus on couples’ relationships had a negative impact on their mental health.

Recommendations

The report makes some recommendations for changes to practice within Pregnancy in Mind.

• Increase the number of referrals generated by diversifying referral pathways.
• Allocate participants into groups in a way which encourages relationship building and appropriate sharing of experiences.
• Focus on the inclusion of single parents and other participants that may feel the ‘odd one out’, for example younger/older parents, first-time parents or parents from different cultural backgrounds.
• Give more consideration to potential previous trauma that group members may have experienced, and how this might impact on content delivery.