Perinatal mental
health and employment
Shining a light on new and expectant parent mental health, and the connections with work and employment.
Research summary
2018 – ongoing
This agenda aims to raise awareness around perinatal (pregnancy and post-birth) mental health in the workplace; identify workplace issues that can exacerbate illness and/or aid recovery; and create resources for employers.
Perinatal mental illness includes a range of different diagnoses including depression, anxiety, psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Around one in five women experience a mental health issue in pregnancy and post-birth. Men, non-birthing partners, and adopting parents can also experience mental illness in the perinatal period.
There is often silence and a lot of stigma concerning perinatal mental illness. Many people do not recognise that they are suffering with a mental illness and/or are reluctant to reach out for help.
Perinatal mental health has largely been overlooked in work and employment scholarship and also in the workplace.
Work so far has included:
- a transdisciplinary literature review
- a call for action from stakeholders
- establishing partnerships with below organisations this has led to the establishment of a new corporate learning and accreditation provision The Parent Gap:
- the UK’s leading charity to support individuals affected by perinatal mental illness, PANDAS Foundation
- the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), a UK-wide charity and network of 130 member organisations, parents, and clinicians dedicated to ensuring all women and families impacted by perinatal mental health problems have access to high-quality, compassionate care and support
- publishing a human resources toolkit
- a partnership with The Open University to conduct empirical research in the context of UK policing. Data collection involved biographical narrative interviews and a focus group with stakeholders
- organising the Perinatal Mental Health in Policing Conference
- We are currently working with Greater Manchester Police’s Association of Women in Policing to develop and trial a range of policy and practice interventions, including a new supervisor toolkit, and revisions to broader policies and the maternity risk assessment. The research findings and GMP’s resources are also being used and adapted by employers in other industries including healthcare, social housing and early years education.
- A realist evaluation of the New and Expectant Parent Mental Health Supervisor Toolkit resource (developed with GMP) is currently being carried out, led by Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie at Anglia Ruskin University. We are working with three UK police forces to identify pathways to implementation of the toolkit; capture policy and processes required in force to scaffold and support implementation; understand barriers (and how to overcome them); and capture impact. Evaluation of the police supervisor perinatal mental health support toolkit – ARU
Research outputs
Articles and chapters
- Wilkinson, K. (2025) How does your organisation support employees’ perinatal mental health? People Management
- Jackson, I (2024) “I’ve been called to more than 100 murders – but never asked if I’m mentally fit for duty”: Why Greater Manchester Police is working with academic researchers to ensure better support for staff experiencing perinatal mental illness. People Management
- Wilkinson, K, Lennie, S-J and Duddin, K (2024) Perinatal Mental Health and Employment: Exploring the Work-Illness Intersection in the Context of UK Policing in Wilkinson, K and Woolnough, H (eds) Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp 95-108
- Lennie, S-J (2024) Becoming a parent, mental health and the impact of police life Policing Insight
- Bunkham, S and Wilkinson, K (2022) Understanding post-natal depression and how it might affect your workplace Mental Health at Work blog
- Wilkinson, K (2022) Supporting staff affected by perinatal mental illness People Management
- Wilkinson, K (2022) Maternal (perinatal) mental health and employment: An agenda for research and practice, Human Resource Management Journal
Events
- British Academy of Management, September 2024 (Won ‘Best Developmental Paper Award’ in the Gender in Management track)
- Manchester Met Faculty of Business and Law Conference, June 2024 (paper presented)
- British Association of Women in Policing Conference, June 2024 (invited presenter)
- MMHA Business Roundtable in the House of Lords, May 2024 (invited presenter)
- Gender, Work and Organization Conference, June 2023 (paper presented)
- Perinatal Mental Health in Policing Conference, January 2022 (we organised the conference and presented our research)
- Work and Family Researchers Network Conference, June 2026, Montreal
Documents
- PANDAS HR Toolkit
- Supervisor Toolkit (PDF when available)
- GMP perinatal mental health research summary
Research team
Lead researcher
Co-researchers
- Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie, The Open University
- Dr Keely Duddin, The Open University
Collaborating with:
- Greater Manchester Police Association of Women in Policing
Contact us
For general enquiries about the Centre for Decent Work and Productivity you can contact Prof Carol Atkinson.
Project enquiries
If you have questions about this project, you can contact: