DESCRIPTION OF TOPIC:
In the last decade in the UK, rates of newborn babies taken into State Care due to safeguarding concerns have nearly doubled. Women who face separation from their babies often present with multiple adversities and have faced a life of trauma and abuse. Evidence is lacking on how healthcare services during pregnancy and the postnatal period can better support these women. My Phd aimed to fill this evidence gap, using a mixed methods approach, co-designed with women with lived experience of infant separation. Through narrative interviews, I explored the experiences of perinatal care of women who faced separation from their babies shortly after birth. Next, I used a database of linked pregnancy and mental healthcare records of pregnant women in South London, UK (the eLIXIR – Born in South London database) to investigate socio-demographic, medical, and pregnancy-related characteristics of women with social care involvement during pregnancy. Finally, I investigated UK maternal death surveillance data and conducted a confidential inquiry to examine the quality of care of women with social care involvement. Study findings were merged and extensively sense-checked by women with lived experience and professionals with expertise in this area.

RELEVANCE TO MIDWIFERY:
The findings of my doctoral research provide the evidence to rethink care pathways for this group of marginalized mothers and make their care trauma-informed, joined-up, and easy to access. As midwives, our actions and interactions with women who are so often unheard and unseen in society, research, and clinical practice can be life-saving. Spanish - other (including three-minute presentation competition)