BACKGROUND:
Women with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often face executive-function challenges and emotional issues, which can worsen postnatally due to caregiving pressures and societal expectations. Midwives could support them more effectively, but a lack of training leaves many new mothers without essential help.

OBJECTIVES:
To explore how executive-function interacts with the demands of early postnatal parenting in mothers with ADHD.

METHODS:
Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framed by feminist standpoint theory was employed to conduct semi-structured interviews with three mothers diagnosed with ADHD, each with children aged three years or younger. Participants were recruited via social media. Each 60-minute interview was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s six-phase reflexive thematic process. The results indicate that implementing low-cost strategies, such as creating sensory-aware spaces, utilising concise written prompts, and adopting neurodiversity-informed communication, which can be quickly taught and adopted by midwives globally, has the potential to significantly improve postnatal care experiences for mothers with ADHD and contribute to advancements in maternal health worldwide.

RESULTS:
Nine core themes emerged: (1) executive function challenges and emotional regulation, (2) self-criticism and negative self-talk, (3) importance of support networks, (4) sensory sensitivities and overload, (5) desire for individualised healthcare and understanding, (6) struggles with self-identity and adaptation to motherhood, (7) emotional release and crying as coping mechanisms, (8) the impact of trauma on postnatal experience, and (9) use of ADHD-specific coping mechanisms. These themes illustrate the compounded cognitive and emotional demands ADHD mothers face, exacerbated by societal norms that often fail to recognise or accommodate neurodivergent caregiving needs.

CONCLUSIONS:
Results indicate that low-cost strategies like sensory-aware spaces, concise prompts, and neurodiversity-informed communication could quickly enhance postnatal care for mothers with ADHD and improve global maternal health.

KEY MESSAGE:
Expanding neurodiversity-competent midwifery to a million more practitioners could enhance postnatal outcomes for ADHD mothers. Mental health (Including three-minute presentation competition)