Perinatal bereavement can severely disrupt women's anticipated role as mothers, affecting their psychological wellbeing and identity as parents. Existing research highlights many women report persistent and enduring grief for months or even years post-loss, highlighting the urgent need for interventions to help maintain a healthy parental identity and mitigate long-term mental health impacts. To explore how memory-making practices, supported by compassionate care, serve to preserve the parental identity of bereaved mothers after perinatal loss. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 54 UK-based women who had experienced a perinatal bereavement. Grounded Theory Analysis guided the inductive coding and thematic development. Five themes emerged: (1) Compassion to Care; (2) Finding Comfort in Guidance; (3) Deriving Hope from Parental Identity; (4) Altruism as Catharsis; and (5) Comforted and Consoled. Together, these themes gave rise to the final theory, 'From Mourning to Memorialising - A Lasting Connection through Remembrance,' demonstrating how memory-making enables bereaved mothers to preserve their sense of parenthood after loss. Memory-making activities allow bereaved mothers to acknowledge their baby's existence and uphold their parental identity. When supported by compassionate care and support, these activities help to integrate the baby's memory into daily life, gradually easing acute grief. Over time, they become lasting markers which validate motherhood, foster continuity, and provide solace, ensuring that parenthood endures despite the absence of a living child. Structured memory-making and compassionate care strategies can enhance parental identity retention, fostering emotional resilience and guiding more effective bereavement care provision.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common pregnancy complications. While considerable attention has been paid to the management of GDM during pregnancy, women's perceptions of GDM, knowledge of associated risk factors and health behaviours before and between pregnancies are less well understood, despite their importance for informing diabetes prevention programmes. Aims/Objectives: To explore women's knowledge of GDM risk factors, perceptions of GDM and preconception health behaviours. Methods: Individual semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 23 women with GDM in the third trimester of pregnancy. Data were analysed using a template analysis based on preconception knowledge, risk communication, and perceptions and behaviours. Results: Women often had limited knowledge of GDM before pregnancy, with many first learning about the condition during antenatal screening. Perceptions of risk were largely weight or BMI centred, with less recognition of other factors. Although participants commonly described intentions to improve diet quality and increase physical activity prior to conception, these intentions were rarely translated into sustained behaviours. Reported barriers included time constraints, caregiving responsibilities, financial costs and limited access to clear, culturally appropriate guidance. Pregnancy preparedness varied by parity: women approaching a first pregnancy focused on general preparation and navigating the healthcare system, whereas women with a prior GDM experience planned around potential recurrence, including early self‐management and glucose monitoring. Conclusions: Findings support two priorities: (1) strengthening communication and education at the time of GDM screening and diagnosis so that results and next steps are clear, supportive and person‐centred; and (2) providing universal, general preconception support delivered proportionately to need, alongside targeted interconception pathways for women at higher absolute risk, following GDM. The findings do not imply universal GDM‐specific preconception education for all women; rather, they indicate a need for needs‐based communication during pregnancy and targeted interconception support delivered with clear signposting to resources. Patient or Public Contribution: An advisory group of seven women has been involved in this project. Four online sessions were conducted (between October 2023 and July 2024) to develop the research question, study materials, recruitment plans, interview schedules and participant retention plan.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common pregnancy complications. While considerable attention has been paid to the management of GDM during pregnancy, women's perceptions of GDM, knowledge of associated risk factors and health behaviours before and between pregnancies are less well understood, despite their importance for informing diabetes prevention programmes. To explore women's knowledge of GDM risk factors, perceptions of GDM and preconception health behaviours. Individual semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 23 women with GDM in the third trimester of pregnancy. Data were analysed using a template analysis based on preconception knowledge, risk communication, and perceptions and behaviours. Women often had limited knowledge of GDM before pregnancy, with many first learning about the condition during antenatal screening. Perceptions of risk were largely weight or BMI centred, with less recognition of other factors. Although participants commonly described intentions to improve diet quality and increase physical activity prior to conception, these intentions were rarely translated into sustained behaviours. Reported barriers included time constraints, caregiving responsibilities, financial costs and limited access to clear, culturally appropriate guidance. Pregnancy preparedness varied by parity: women approaching a first pregnancy focused on general preparation and navigating the healthcare system, whereas women with a prior GDM experience planned around potential recurrence, including early self-management and glucose monitoring. Findings support two priorities: (1) strengthening communication and education at the time of GDM screening and diagnosis so that results and next steps are clear, supportive and person-centred; and (2) providing universal, general preconception support delivered proportionately to need, alongside targeted interconception pathways for women at higher absolute risk, following GDM. The findings do not imply universal GDM-specific preconception education for all women; rather, they indicate a need for needs-based communication during pregnancy and targeted interconception support delivered with clear signposting to resources. An advisory group of seven women has been involved in this project. Four online sessions were conducted (between October 2023 and July 2024) to develop the research question, study materials, recruitment plans, interview schedules and participant retention plan.

Objectives: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects a significant and growing proportion of women each year. We know little about how their needs and experiences change over the perinatal period. This study aims to explore the psychosocial and healthcare experiences of women with a GDM diagnosis from pregnancy to 12‐month postnatal. Methods: This is a qualitative, longitudinal study comprising of individual interviews with women diagnosed with GDM who live in the UK at three time points: 35‐weeks’ gestation; 3‐months postnatal; 12‐months postnatal. Data will be analysed using template analysis. Comparisons will be made both between participants and timepoints to allow for biographical and temporal interpretations. Results: This study will provide in‐depth insights into women's lived‐experiences, psychosocial needs, and interactions with healthcare services. Particular attention will be given to the transition between antenatal and postnatal periods. Conclusion: Study findings will support the co‐development of a tailored mother‐infant dyad intervention grounded in women's needs and preferences across the perinatal period, aimed at improving long‐term health outcomes for women and their children with a focus on diabetes prevention.

Background: Unplanned pregnancy is a public health issue and understanding women’s decision making aids practitioners in assessing fertility trends, contraception use, and family planning counselling. In Italy, Catholicism reinforces ‘natural reproduction’ and ‘traditional’ contraception, making it an ‘Imperfect Contraceptive Society.’ A valid and reliable measure of pregnancy intentionality is increasingly important, and the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP) has proved effective. Objectives and Methods: This study comprised four stages: (1) English–Italian translation and back-translation to create the Italian version [LMUP-IT]; (2) online data collection from postnatal women; (3) evaluation of its psychometric properties (targeting, reliability, construct validity via CFA and measurement invariance with a UK sample, ‘known groups’ hypothesis testing); and (4) exploratory analysis of its associations with perinatal mental health. The sample comprised 450 postnatal women (M_age = 33.6 ± 4.5). Results: The LMUP-IT was shown to be reliable (ωT = 0.81, α = 0.76), with acceptable targeting. Measurement invariance testing confirmed consistency with the UK sample in factor structure, loadings, intercepts, and errors. LMUP-IT scores significantly correlated with well-known indicators of perinatal mental health. Conclusions: Overall, the LMUP-IT is a reliable measure of pregnancy intention in Italian for postpartum women. Understanding pregnancy intention will help healthcare professionals tailor interventions to better support women’s mental health during the transition to motherhood.

Despite the profound effects ectopic pregnancy has been demonstrated to have on women's mental health, this type of pregnancy loss has received little attention compared to other forms. Ectopic pregnancies are the leading cause of maternal death in early pregnancy and often require urgent medical intervention, which overshadows the psycho-social impacts associated with pregnancy loss. We aimed to undertake a detailed investigation into women's experiences and associated psychosocial impacts of ectopic pregnancy. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews (N = 20) were conducted with women who suffered an ectopic pregnancy. The interviews were subject to a Grounded Theory Analysis. Four interconnected themes emerged: 'Waiting for the Inevitable', 'End of the Agony', 'Fighting through Perceived Loneliness', and 'Restorative Empowerment'. Together, these themes form the theory 'Turning Pain into Purpose'. This theory suggests, although ectopic pregnancy loss is deeply painful, the challenges encountered can foster personal growth, transforming suffering into a source of empowerment and, ultimately, purpose. Whilst ectopic pregnancies represent a life-threatening condition with profound mental health impacts, this research emphasizses the potential for resilience and healing. It underscores the need for compassionate, tailored care and mental health support, along with increased societal awareness. By listening to women's voices and understanding their complex experiences, healthcare systems can improve care and support, fostering better outcomes and effecting lasting positive change. When women reach out and form networks of support, they can end the psycho-emotional agony whilst also recovering from the physical agony of the ectopic pregnancy.