Psychiatry - Theses
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ItemSupporting the Transition to Parenthood for High-Risk First-Time Mothers in Pregnancy: The STAR Mums Program( 2022)Abstract The transition to parenthood requires significant psychological, social, cognitive and biological adaptation. Successfully navigating this period is critical for maternal mental health, infant development and the development of the parent-infant attachment relationship. In order to have a comprehensive approach to intervention in pregnancy where there are risk factors for difficulties it is important to understand how these domains interact and the consequences for disruption in any of these areas for mothers, infants and their relationship. This thesis thoroughly examines this complex transition and the experiences of this for mothers at a high-risk of experiencing difficulties. Understanding the experience of women at risk in this transition can assist in identifying women who may require intervention in pregnancy to assist in trying to prevent disturbances in the parent-infant relationship. Additionally, this thesis describes a novel psychological intervention, the Supporting Transitions, Attachment and Relationships (STAR Mums) program, a psychodynamic attachment-based group intervention, for pregnant women with risk factors for attachment difficulties. The STAR Mums program aims to provide intervention during pregnancy to assist women identified as having risk factors in the transition to parenthood with the desired outcome to support a healthy transition to parenthood and to reduce some of these risk factors. This study involves a mixed-methods approach incorporating both qualitative and quantitative assessments of sixteen first-time mothers over a 12-month period. The use of qualitative methods allowed a more in-depth exploration of participants’ experiences of the transition to parenthood, their capacity for reflection and their experiences of participating in the program. Participants’ subjective experiences of participating in this intervention and of their transition to parenthood and early parenting can also help us to understand which aspects of this type of intervention are potentially useful and what additional supports may be necessary for subsets of this population. II This thesis highlights the complexity of the transition to parenthood and the need for an increased focus on supporting high-risk women in this period to prevent serious long-term consequences. This work provides an important first step in developing an intervention which provides an opportunity for women at risk to begin to work through issues which may impact their relationship with their infants before they are born, a true form of early intervention.