This 12 month NIHR funded research project started on 1st November 2024

Background

In the UK, women are advised not to drink alcohol when trying to get pregnant or during pregnancy.  The guidance also advises not to drink more than 14 units a week at other times. But the UK has high levels of drinking in pregnancy, which is a big cause of birth defects and learning disabilities. It’s also quite common for mothers to drink above 14 units a week.

This can increase risk of long-lasting physical and mental health problems in women and children. But women are unlikely to accurately report how much they drink. This could be because of not wanting to be judged, fear, not realising how much they drink, or not knowing about the harms alcohol can have, or feeling that specialist alcohol help is unnecessary. This means that women rarely receive alcohol-related information and support that is tailored to their needs.

We want to change that.

What we’re doing

Running sessions with women who are trying to get pregnant, pregnant women, mothers of young children (up to 5 years old), and healthcare workers. From these sessions, we are working with expert software developers to coproduce easy-to-use digital support around alcohol use and wellbeing. We will also create non-digital resources for women who don’t use online content.

The resources will provide information about alcohol’s effects and help women understand their own drinking behaviour. Women can set their own alcohol-related goals, and the resources will help them achieve those goals. Resources will provide wellbeing and stress reduction tools, tips and ideas for what to do instead of drinking (which are enjoyable and fit with women’s lives!) Women’s stories around the benefits and challenges around drinking will help empower resource users and provide a sense of community.

These resources are not to judge women, to scare them or make them feel guilty. MARI will give evidence-based information and explanations around alcohol use and current guidelines. Resources will provide tools to understand and change behaviour, and to support positive wellbeing. MARI is designed to help women make their own, informed, decisions about how much or how little to drink. We want women to feel confident and supported!  

Women who are trying to conceive, pregnant and mothers, as well as professional stakeholders (e.g. healthcare providers, those working with women in community enterprises and charities, public health teams), are integral to this work. Women with different lived experiences and circumstances took part in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement events. Women discussed their experiences of being pregnant and becoming mothers, and the positive and negative impacts of these life stages. They talked about how their drinking had been affected by these life transitions and the role alcohol has taken in their lives (both good and bad). When discussing current healthcare and social support, women were frustrated and mistrusting of current provision.

Overall, women did not feel heard, they did not believe their health/social care conversations remained confidential, and they were not convinced that healthcare professionals had their best interests. All women recognised that alcohol can be harmful, but most did not know why it was harmful. Most women requested information and support be provided online, through a website or app,  but there were also some requests that content be made available offline which could be accessed in community settings. Additionally, women voiced a strong preference for standalone resources, that provided alcohol-related information and support tailored to three key ‘maternal’ stages; trying to conceive, pregnancy, and early motherhood.