My name is Jo Johnson and I am a third year PhD research student at the University of Worcester on a co-funded place with Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust. I have a professional background as a midwife and a health visitor and my research explores the barriers and facilitators faced by these health care professionals when referring women for specialist mental health care in the perinatal period. I have completed the first phase of my research where I interviewed midwives and health visitors from four NHS Trusts in England to better understand the complexities of referring women for specialist perinatal mental health care. The findings from the interviews have helped to inform the next phase of my research which involves distributing questionnaires to the midwives and health visitors working in the four NHS Trusts. I have been fortunate to have feedback and input from the experts at BDRN who have given me valuable advice and guidance when conducting my research. It is hoped that the findings from my research will produce recommendations for practice for midwives and health visitors which will ultimately benefit women who experience mental health problems in the perinatal period.
