A relational approach to perinatal distress

Background: Theoretical approaches have tended to understand perinatal distress through either individual or socio-cultural factors. Mauthner (1994) proposed a relational model which understands perinatal distress in the context of interpersonal relationships. This study aims to explore the question of how women’s relationships connect to their narratives of distress and recovery in the perinatal period.Methods: Eight women were interviewed for the study. All women had at least one child under the age of three and self-identified as having experienced distress in the perinatal period Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Voice Centred Relational Analysis.Results: Four broad themes were identified (i) the role of practical support, (ii) the role of emotional support, (iii) relational dynamics, (iv) the role of socio-cultural norms. Each theme was explored in relation to women’s narratives of distress and recovery.Conclusions: Findings suggested that whilst some women experienced practical and emotional support in their relationships, those who did not linked a lack of support to their feelings of distress. Relationships were also found to reinforce unhelpful social norms around motherhood and mental health, as well as offering a space to resist norms and create wider discourses about what it means to be a mother.