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Postgraduate Fertility, Pregnancy and Development Research Network Meeting Thursday 23rd May, 1.45pm till 4.15pm Funded by Cardiff University Graduate College PROGRAMME Laura Goodwin An exploration of relationships in maternity care; a focus on migration and author experience Ethnic minority women are over-represented in UK maternal death rates (CMACE, 2011), and infant mortality rates in the UK are twice as high for babies born to Pakistani or Caribbean women than those born to White British women, (ONS, 2007). Despite attempts to improve maternity care in general, little research has been conducted on the relational issues between midwife and mother. The aim of the current research is to explore relationships between UK midwives and migrant Pakistani women in the South Wales region. A series of interviews and observations will be conducted with practising UK midwives and migrant Pakistani women in UK maternity care. Results will expand the relatively small research base considering the factors behind inequalities in maternity outcomes in the UK, indicate ways to improve communication and emotional support between UK midwives and ethnic minority mothers, and could ultimately contribute to the lowering of maternal mortality in the UK. As data collection has not yet commenced, the proposed presentation would focus on the development of the research question in hand; evolving from a figurebased hunch to a PhD-worthy piece of research. The presentation would outline the author’s own migration; having transferred from a career path tailored towards forensic psychology to one which aims to reduce inequalities in maternity outcomes. The importance and value of interdisciplinary research would also feature strongly in the presentation, with examples from the author’s own personal experiences. Jessica Eddy and Hugo Creeth Does disrupted placental function lead to alterations in maternal behaviour? During pregnancy, endocrine signalling to the mother is required to induce the changes necessary to accommodate the metabolically demanding foetus. These changes include stimulating forebrain neurogenesis in the maternal brain and altering behaviour. Key factors in this process are the prolactins and closely related placental lactogens. This research examines whether aberrant signalling from the placenta to the mother underlies mood disorders such as maternal depression and puerperal psychosis. Using animal models we can specifically look at maternal brain gene expression, biochemistry and mothering behaviour in female mice carrying pups with altered imprinted gene expression. Imprinted genes are subject to highly regulated epigenetic modification and are known have important roles in regulating foetal growth and placental function in mice and humans. We are specifically looking at Phlda2 a maternally expressed imprinted gene associated with placental growth and development. Using this gene and existing mouse models with known placental phenotypes, we can begin to address the role of placental programming of the maternal brain and its role in behaviour. Laura Bunting FertiSTAT empowering people to optimize their fertility potential: Informed decisionmaking about fertility health issues Despite a near universal desire for parenthood many women do not behave optimally when it comes to protecting their fertility (e.g., increase in exposure to fertility compromising risks). It is clear that more needs to be done to ensure women are making informed-decisions regarding their parenting goals. FertiSTAT is a 22-item self-administered, multifactorial tool that provides personalized fertility guidance based on lifestyle and reproductive factors. FertiSTAT provides foundational work for public health campaigns to increase personal fertility awareness that could enable women to make informed-decisions concerning their parenting plans.