I am a psychologist specialising in perinatal mental health, particularly anxiety and birth trauma. I am a mum and was a single parent for a number of years, which showed me first hand how important it is to do research to inform services and policy in this area. Women’s experiences are at the heart of what we do and I am delighted to be leading the MAP project which has the potential to change how anxiety is identified in maternity care. Every person who takes part in MAP helps make a difference. I am very grateful to all our MAP families and the MAP research team for helping make this happen.

Dr Catherine Best is Lecturer (Statistician) at the Nursing Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research Unit at the University of Stirling. Catherine’s research focus is primarily methodological, and her skills are in the areas of quantitative data analysis and statistics. Catherine has been employed in health research for over 20 years and has worked on projects involving survey data analysis, analysis of linked administrative data sets, and conduct and analysis of randomized controlled trials. She has also co-authored a number of systematic reviews. Catherine obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2007 and has a BSc from the University of Manchester.

I am a midwife and the Royal College of Midwives Professor of Midwifery. I am the lead researcher for the Scottish sites on the MAP project. Before I became a researcher I was a practicing midwife working in the NHS for 20 years, in Glasgow and in a rural maternity hospital. As a researcher I have remained committed to improving the health, wellbeing and experience of mothers and families through provision of evidence to inform maternity care providers and service users. I am delighted to be part of this exciting and important project.

I am psychologist working in the area of mental health in pregnancy and after birth. I have worked in this area for 10 years and had 2 children during this time, which has made me even more passionate about this research. I work with the NHS hospitals and clinical research networks involved in the MAP programme and am co-investigator on the project. I completed my doctoral research on the Assessment of Perinatal Mental Health Problems and work with a variety of methods. Finding out about women’s experiences and how we can improve them is at the core of all my work.

Amy joined the MAP Alliance project as a qualitative research assistant after completing her PhD at City, University of London. Her doctorate investigated the impact of birth trauma on the couple relationship and associated support requirements. Amy has a background in antenatal education and third sector parent support, and is passionate about using research to improve perinatal experiences and associated outcomes. 

Una Hutton is a research assistant on the MAP Alliance Study. She completed her PhD on the development of children's short-term memory and after a career break to have children, returned to research as part of the Pregnancy MAP Team. She is particularly interested in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research and education, and currently leads the PPI group for MAP Alliance. Una is passionate about increasing everyday conversation about mental health as well as improving recognition, care and treatment.

Margaret Maxwell is Professor of Health Services and Mental Health Research at the University of Stirling and took up the post of Director of the Chief Scientist Office funded Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research Unit (NMAHP-RU) in October 2016. As Director of the NMAHP-RU, she has a long-standing interest in developing research capacity and capability within the NHS workforce to enable delivery of evidence-based care. She has been involved in health services research for over 30 years, focusing on quality and delivery of care and common mental health problems. She has been involved in several European research collaborations tackling suicide, depression, and mental health in the workplace, and has evaluated several national programmes for improving mental health, tackling depression and psychological distress. She also has specific interests in maternal, child and adolescent mental health focusing on early detection and service delivery that meets the needs and preferences of these groups.

I'm a research fellow within the NMAHP-RU at Stirling university, conducting statistical analysis for the MAP project, particularly with assessing measures of perinatal anxiety. I am currently finishing my PhD at Stirling University where I have studied volunteering transitions amongst older adults around life events including widowhood and retirement, and the effects of policy change on participation. I am passionate about statistics and using secondary data to answer research questions which have a positive impact on society.

Patricia is a psychologist working on the MAP Alliance study, investigating the support that women with anxiety receive during pregnancy and up to two years after birth. Her PhD focused on approaches to the assessment of risk factors for maternal depression. Patricia’s previous research has examined attachment, parenting, and adverse experience across the lifespan including adverse childhood experience, and how these factors contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression among mothers and their children. She has a particular interest in research that makes a difference to the lives of women and families, and to the improvement of services that support them. She is also a registered Counselling Psychologist and has worked both in the NHS and for mental health charities with clients experiencing a range of mental health problems.

I am a researcher for the Scottish sites in the MAP project. My background is in psychology and since I moved to the UK from Italy in 2009 I have worked in a variety of roles, including as a Children’s Centre Worker in Oxford and a Family Support Worker in Edinburgh. My doctoral research was on the development of a questionnaire to identify women experiencing high levels of anxiety during pregnancy. I am passionate about supporting and promoting women’s emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and after birth, and working on the MAP project is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to this area.

I am a radiographer and completed my Masters in Clinical Research in 2019. I also work part time as the research assistant for Pregnancy MAP. I believe understanding the impact of mental health issues and how this can be supported and managed effectively is really important. Therefore, I am very pleased to be a part of MAP to make a difference to the care women receive during pregnancy.