Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice
Objectives New parents are at increased risk of loneliness, which adversely affects parental and infant health and well-being and has been linked to an increased likelihood of parental mental illness. In the UK, perinatal mental illness is estimated to cost £8.1bn a year, predominantly due to lastin...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e085669.full |
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| author | Katherine Adlington Rebecca Nowland Lindsay Hunter Katherine Hall Suzanne Wilson Naomi Finch Nicola Wallis Ruth Naughton-Doe Jacqueline Kent-Marvick Phoebe McKenna-Plumley Emily Lovett Thuy-Vy Nguyen Florence Gaughan Corinna Colella Elizabeth Taylor Buck Sarah Shemery Catrin Noone |
| author_facet | Katherine Adlington Rebecca Nowland Lindsay Hunter Katherine Hall Suzanne Wilson Naomi Finch Nicola Wallis Ruth Naughton-Doe Jacqueline Kent-Marvick Phoebe McKenna-Plumley Emily Lovett Thuy-Vy Nguyen Florence Gaughan Corinna Colella Elizabeth Taylor Buck Sarah Shemery Catrin Noone |
| author_sort | Katherine Adlington |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives New parents are at increased risk of loneliness, which adversely affects parental and infant health and well-being and has been linked to an increased likelihood of parental mental illness. In the UK, perinatal mental illness is estimated to cost £8.1bn a year, predominantly due to lasting poor health and developmental consequences for children. The purpose of this consensus statement is to determine the state of this research field, highlighting key issues for researchers, policymakers and those responsible for perinatal mental health services and interventions. We will also highlight knowledge gaps to be addressed in future perinatal loneliness research.Design, setting and participants The Parental Loneliness Research Group held six online meetings between October 2023 and May 2024, attended by academics and practitioners from the UK and USA. Attendees conducted a mapping exercise by appraising published, unpublished and ongoing perinatal loneliness research. The findings were shared with advisory groups, including parents with lived experience of loneliness. A consensus statement was then drafted, reflecting existing knowledge and gaps in the current evidence about the experience of perinatal loneliness in the first 1001 days.Results A consensus about the definitions, measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions relevant to perinatal loneliness is outlined. Gaps in the literature are highlighted.Conclusions Despite emerging research into perinatal loneliness, it is hard to determine prevalence due to limited analyses of national survey data. Recommendations for future research include secondary data analysis; prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion; reconsidering solutions to perinatal loneliness through a social justice lens; co-producing interventions, and rigorous evaluation of existing interventions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-05a0ed4901d04c4d8b15d220bc345bb3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-05a0ed4901d04c4d8b15d220bc345bb32025-08-20T02:31:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-05-0115510.1136/bmjopen-2024-085669Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practiceKatherine Adlington0Rebecca Nowland1Lindsay Hunter2Katherine Hall3Suzanne Wilson4Naomi Finch5Nicola Wallis6Ruth Naughton-Doe7Jacqueline Kent-Marvick8Phoebe McKenna-Plumley9Emily Lovett10Thuy-Vy Nguyen11Florence Gaughan12Corinna Colella13Elizabeth Taylor Buck14Sarah Shemery15Catrin Noone16East London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKSchool of Community Health and Midwifery, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UKBirmingham City University, Birmingham, UKDepartment of General Practice and Rural Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandUniversity of Central Lancashire, Preston, UKSPSW, Univ York, York, UKUniversity of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKBusiness & Society, University of York, York, UKCollege of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USAQueen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UKEdge Hill University, Ormskirk, UKDurham University, Durham, UKSheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UKQueen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UKUniversity of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research, Sheffield, UKSocial and Political Science, University of Edinburgh School of Arts Culture and Environment, Edinburgh, UKDurham University, Durham, UKObjectives New parents are at increased risk of loneliness, which adversely affects parental and infant health and well-being and has been linked to an increased likelihood of parental mental illness. In the UK, perinatal mental illness is estimated to cost £8.1bn a year, predominantly due to lasting poor health and developmental consequences for children. The purpose of this consensus statement is to determine the state of this research field, highlighting key issues for researchers, policymakers and those responsible for perinatal mental health services and interventions. We will also highlight knowledge gaps to be addressed in future perinatal loneliness research.Design, setting and participants The Parental Loneliness Research Group held six online meetings between October 2023 and May 2024, attended by academics and practitioners from the UK and USA. Attendees conducted a mapping exercise by appraising published, unpublished and ongoing perinatal loneliness research. The findings were shared with advisory groups, including parents with lived experience of loneliness. A consensus statement was then drafted, reflecting existing knowledge and gaps in the current evidence about the experience of perinatal loneliness in the first 1001 days.Results A consensus about the definitions, measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions relevant to perinatal loneliness is outlined. Gaps in the literature are highlighted.Conclusions Despite emerging research into perinatal loneliness, it is hard to determine prevalence due to limited analyses of national survey data. Recommendations for future research include secondary data analysis; prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion; reconsidering solutions to perinatal loneliness through a social justice lens; co-producing interventions, and rigorous evaluation of existing interventions.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e085669.full |
| spellingShingle | Katherine Adlington Rebecca Nowland Lindsay Hunter Katherine Hall Suzanne Wilson Naomi Finch Nicola Wallis Ruth Naughton-Doe Jacqueline Kent-Marvick Phoebe McKenna-Plumley Emily Lovett Thuy-Vy Nguyen Florence Gaughan Corinna Colella Elizabeth Taylor Buck Sarah Shemery Catrin Noone Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice BMJ Open |
| title | Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice |
| title_full | Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice |
| title_fullStr | Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice |
| title_short | Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice |
| title_sort | exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the uk findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement prevalence antecedents impacts and interventions and agreed future priorities for research policy and practice |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e085669.full |
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