“Hang in there mama!” The role of online parenting forums in maternal mental health

Abstract

The perinatal period can be challenging and yet reluctance to disclose wellbeing concerns to health professionals is well documented. The current study sought to explore how women use online parenting forums to seek advice and support for maternal mental health concerns. Forum threads (N = 153) from a popular UK parenting website were analysed to explore postpartum mothers’ discussions about their maternal mental health. Through reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were generated: (1) Navigating the motherhood role: unprepared and overwhelmed; (2) “I’m struggling, but looking on here I know I’m no way alone!”; (3) Challenging feelings of failure: “it doesn’t make you a bad mother”; and (4) Forums facilitate help seeking. There were two main findings; first, forums may act as a potential solution in offering a supportive, reassuring community and safe space for disclosure around maternal mental health concerns. Furthermore, forums are beneficial in providing women with an honest, realistic view and expectation of motherhood, thus supporting their transition to parenthood. Consequently, forums could be utilised to inform training for healthcare professionals to understand disclosure barriers.