Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Bachelor in Science in Midwifery Honours Degree programme

MW3E01 -Motherhood and Mental Wellbeing Distress (5 ECTS)

Learning Outcomes

Following completion of this module the student should be able to:

Describe women’s experiences of mental distress during the perinatal period;
Discuss how midwifery care and maternity service provision can impact, positively or negatively, on women’s mental wellbeing;
Discuss the view that mental distress around the time of childbirth is not a unique phenomenon;
Discuss the skills in being present to people who are experiencing acute mental distress;
Discuss their own discomfort / attitudes in being present to people who are experiencing mental health distress;
Critique the pro and cons of screening for mental health problems during the perinatal period;
Discuss how the construction of the ideal mother can impact on women’s self esteem and confidence as mothers.

Module Learning Aims

The aim of this elective module is to provide midwifery students with the opportunity to explore the
issues surrounding motherhood and mental wellbeing / distress in greater depth than is afforded in the
core midwifery curriculum. The module will explore the literature on women’s stories / narratives of their
experiences of mental distress around the time of the birth of their baby.

Essential Reading

Hanzak E.A. (2005) Eyes Without Sparkle: A Journey Through Postnatal Illness. Radcliffe Publishing, Oxford.
Shaw F. (1997) Out of Me. Virago Press, London.

Additional Reading

Confidential Inquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH). (2007) Saving Mother’s Lives:
Reviewing Maternal Deaths to make Motherhood Safer – 2003-2005. CEMACH, London.
Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) (2011) Saving mothers’ lives: reviewing maternal deaths to make motherhood safer: 2006-2008. The eighth report on confidential enquiries into maternal death in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 118 (Suppl. 1), 1-203.
Cox J. & Holden J (2003) Perinatal Mental Health: A Guide to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Gaskell, london
Douglas S.J. & Michaels M.W. (2004) The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined All Women. Free Press, New York.
Kennedy P. (ed.) (2004) Motherhood in Ireland. Mercier Press, Cork.
Mander R. (2004) Men and Maternity. Routledge, London. http://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=28242&loc=&srch=undefined&src=0
Nicolson P. (2001) Postnatal Depression: Facing the Paradox of Loss, Happiness and Motherhood. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester.
Raynor M. & England C. (2010) Psychology for Midwives: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Puerperium. McGraw Hill Open University Press, England.
Welford H. (1998) Feelings after Childbirth: The NCT Book of Postnatal Depression. The National Childbirth Trust Publishing, Cambridge.