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Contact Information:

Prof R. Katie Morris
+44 (0)1214148072
R.K.Morris@bham.ac.uk


More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Exploring the views and experiences of women affected by tears and cuts during childbirth and the healthcare professionals who care for them (the Chapter qualitative sub-study)
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Exploring the views and experiences of women affected by tears and cuts during childbirth and the healthcare professionals who care for them (the Chapter qualitative sub-study)

Not Recruiting

Open to: Female

Age: Adult

Birmingham

Medical Conditions

Childbirth-related perineal trauma.

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


More than 80% of women experience cuts and/or tears during vaginal childbirth in the UK each year. That’s about 450,000 women so it’s a big problem. When giving birth vaginally, women can experience tears and cuts to the muscles and skin around the bladder, vagina perineum (the skin between the vagina and back passage) and the anal sphincter. All types of tears can result in pain and distress for women, and where there are problems, they need to be treated quickly and effectively.
If tears are not treated properly, women can be left with physical and mental health problems. At the moment, we don’t have a standardised care process (tool) to help doctors, midwives and nurses to manage cuts and tears after childbirth if there are problems. It’s really important that we develop a tool to make sure that women affected by cuts and tears during childbirth are getting the best care. The information collected as part of this study will be used to inform the development of a tool and guidance and will hopefully improve care for women in the future.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

18 Dec 2023 30 Sep 2024

Publications

2024 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38803248/ (added 03/12/2024)2025 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40280622/ Qualitative study protocol (added 28/04/2025)

Participants will be asked to give consent and complete a short background questionnaire (e.g. age and ethnicity).
For women there are two options for taking part, either a one-to-one discussion (interview) or a group discussion with other women affected by tears and cuts during childbirth (discussion group). Healthcare professionals will be able to take part in an interview. Taking part will be arranged at a date and time to suit the participant and can be done on the phone, Zoom, Teams, or face-to-face. An interview will take about an hour. A discussion group will take between 1.5 and 2 hours. Interviews and discussion groups will be audio recorded and the recording used to make a written record of what is discussed.
Women and healthcare professionals will be asked about their experiences of cuts and/or tears during childbirth including, care following childbirth, what is important during recovery, and what might be important questions within a tool that doctors and midwives will use to help care for women affected by cuts and tears.


1. Women who are over the age of 18 years, living in the UK who have experienced cuts and/or tears during childbirth within the last 12 months. Women will need to be able to take part in English or Romanian, Urdu, Bengali, Polish, Arabic or Hindi.
2. Registered healthcare professionals who are over the age of 18 and working in the NHS to provide care to women who have experienced cuts and/or tears.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


Women:1. Transgender men2. Inability to provide consent3. Unable to participate in English or one of the six community languages

HCPs:1. Inability to consent2. Student HCP


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • University of Birmingham (Recruiting Site)
    Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit Institute of Applied Health Research Public Health Building
    Birmingham
    B15 2TT

This information has not yet been provided by the study team. You'll have an opportunity to discuss any risks and benefits that may be associated with this study prior to consenting to taking part.

Prof R. Katie Morris
+44 (0)1214148072
R.K.Morris@bham.ac.uk



More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.


The study is sponsored by University of Birmingham and funded by Health Technology Assessment Programme.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN58041554
Last updated 28 April 2025

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