MUMS ALONE: The Perinatal Loneliness Study

Many women experience depression during pregnancy and in the first year after childbirth, known as the perinatal period, with sometimes serious consequences. Many women also find that their relationships and friendships change during and after pregnancy, which can make them feel lonely and isolated. However, there has been little research exploring how isolation connects to women’s experiences of depression. Also, little is known about how perinatal women describe loneliness and isolation in relation to their mental health. This project plans to use existing data (including from the STACEY study) to explore relationships between loneliness, isolation and depression in a collaborative, mixed-methods study.