Investigating the health and care needs of women with multimorbidity

UK based surveillance data shows that women with pre-existing medical conditions are disproportionately affected by maternal death and life-threatening maternal morbidity. One particularly striking observation to consistently emerge from this data is that a large number of women who die have multiple (two or more) pre-existing medical conditions at the time of pregnancy (5). There are no studies at present that specifically examine the sociodemographic characteristics, pregnancy and health outcomes for women with multiple pre-existing medical conditions. It is however, reasonable to assume based on mortality data that they may be the most disadvantaged group in terms of experiencing adverse outcomes and health inequalities.
There is a clear need for further research into this group of the maternity population. This will allow evidence based recommendations to be made as to how maternity care can best be structured and delivered to support improved outcomes for this group of women.
The aim of this research is to investigate the health and care needs of pregnant women with multiple medical conditions in order to support the development of evidence-based maternity care in the UK. A mixed methods study has been chosen, and three interrelated work packages have been designed to meet the aims and objectives of the research.