Individual interviews

The first step (step 1) of this study consisted in conducting individual interviews with four different groups of mothers to explore the maternal needs:

a group of mothers, who had given birth 4 to 6 weeks earlier, not having the feeling of living a psychological disorder or depression (group 1);

a group of mothers, who had given birth 4 to 6 weeks earlier, showing a psychological disorder or having the impression of living a depression (group 2);

a group of mothers, who had given birth 10 to 14 months earlier, not having the feeling of having experienced a major psychological disorder after childbirth and for whom postnatal depression had not been diagnosed (group 3);

a group of mothers, who had given birth 10 to 14 months earlier, having experienced a major psychological disorder after childbirth (undiagnosed) or for whom postnatal depression had been diagnosed (group 4).

All women who met the criteria of one of the four above groups and who agreed to participate were eligible for this study. Events of psychological disorder or depression were assessed through personal experience of the participants but also with the EPDS Questionnaire [20]. Exclusion criteria were: twin pregnancy, foetal death in utero, very premature childbirth (<34 weeks of gestation), foetal-pathologies. We expected to interview 10 mothers by group of study (n = 40).

Recruitment of participants was done through various ways. On one side, we visited the two biggest maternity hospitals of the city of Liège (Belgium) to talk about the study to new mothers: those who were interested in the study were contacted 3 to 4 weeks later to schedule an interview (groups 1 and 2). On the other side, the study was also posted on social networks: Facebook, the websites of the WeLL (Wallonia e-health Living Lab) and of the AlterNative (platform for a respected birth). Posters were also placed in different paediatric and gynaecological services. Participants, who expressed their interests, were contacted by telephone. More information on the study was given and if they agreed to participate in the study, an appointment for the interview was fixed (groups 3 and 4).

The face to face interviews took place at the mothers’ home. Each interview began with a reminder of the context of the research. The rights of the participant and the ethical and legal context of the research were also reminded. A written description of the research was provided to the participant and informed consent was collected. The interview then started. The researcher had an interview guide which is presented in Fig. ​Fig.1.1. The interview guide has been prepared and constructed by the main researcher who is a midwife and a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Health with the contribution of a psychologist, a gynaecologist and an epidemiologist.