PURPOSE:
To demonstrate how a purposefully composed expert panel - blending clinical, academic, and experiential expertise - enhances triangulation, rigour, and real-world experience in a qualitative midwifery study called the EMER study (Early Motherhood Expectations versus Reality).

DISCUSSION:
In a four-phase explorative study on first-time mothers’ expectations versus the realities of early motherhood, an expert panel (N=11) played a central role in shaping the research architecture, reflexively engaging with findings, and translating insights into practical recommendations. While Delphi techniques are well-known for structured consensus-building, this study was different as the expert panel embedded themselves within a reflexive process throughout the research lifecycle. The panel included midwives from hospital, community and education sectors, alongside researchers, a public health academic, and mothers with lived experience. This diversity enabled methodological triangulation through multiple perspectives, iterative feedback, and integration of varied forms of expertise across all phases. While thematic development remained the responsibility of the researcher (as per reflexive thematic analysis: Braun & Clarke) the panel contributed by interrogating interpretations and helping to situate the findings within broader societal and professional contexts. Crucially, the panel contributed directly to practice translation. This model went beyond tokenistic PPI. It exemplified co-production, prioritised woman-centred epistemology, and integrated applied insight into the fabric of the research process. As a result of the collaborative process, recommendations for parent education, extended and holistic postpartum care, and fourth-trimester support models were co-developed and tailored to current healthcare service constraints.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
This approach aligns with Brett et al. (2014) and Greenhalgh et al. (2016) on stakeholder-engaged research and knowledge translation.

KEY MESSAGE:
Expert panels - when diverse and reflexively engaged - enhance rigour and triangulation and capture real-world experience from multiple perspectives. The inclusion of expert panels sets the stage for greater leadership initiatives by enhancing maternal and infant research methodologies. Poster session 3 (Group B)