Four PhDs, one goal: Enhancing maternal health through research
The Bump2Baby and Me Project exemplifies the power of integrating PhD research into larger collaborative initiatives. This synergy not only advances the project’s objectives but also provides invaluable opportunities for the doctoral candidates involved.
Bringing together PhD research and large-scale projects
Incorporating PhD research into broader collaborative projects like Bump2Baby and Me offers multifaceted benefits.
For the project, it offers:
- Fresh perspectives and innovative approaches
- In-depth, specialised research on crucial aspects of the project
- Access to cutting-edge academic knowledge and methodologies
- Enhanced credibility and academic rigour.
For the PhD students benefits include:
- Real-world application of theoretical knowledge
- Access to extensive resources and datasets
- Networking opportunities with industry professionals and academics
- Enhanced career prospects through involvement in high-impact research.
This collaborative model ensures that the research remains grounded in practical applications while pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry.
Our PhD Researchers
The Bump2Baby and Me Project brings together four dedicated PhD candidates, each contributing their unique expertise to a common goal: enhancing maternal and infant health.
From left to right: Elena Rey Velasco, Antje Schöps, Liz McGovern and Laura O’Toole
Elena Rey Velasco – University of Copenhagen and Liva Healthcare
Elena’s research focuses on leveraging technology to improve patient-provider relationships and health outcomes in digital coaching. Her PhD thesis, “Optimising asynchronous communication in digital health coaching – The intersection of empathy and behaviour change,” examines the intricate dynamics of coach-patient interactions in telehealth settings.
Elena explains,
“My research explored how language in text messages influences behaviour change, and how AI could assist coaches in identifying patient emotions to foster more empathetic responses. The goal is to find the right balance between technological efficiency and maintaining a human connection.”
Elena successfully defended her thesis on the 21st of October 2024. The recording is available to watch, providing an opportunity to witness this significant contribution to digital health research.
Antje Schöps, University of Copenhagen
Antje’s research aims to identify the challenges of the current approach to the fidelity of delivery in behaviour change interventions and to show how a linguistic and interactional approach can provide insights into the communicative aspects of content delivery of interventions. The aims are pursued through three research studies investigating face-to-face video-mediated interactions in a behaviour change intervention for pregnant women at risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus.
The randomised controlled trial Bump 2 Baby and Me studied the implementation and effectiveness of a mHealth-supported behaviour change coaching programme. The analysis from the trial is ongoing but video recordings from the trial’s intervention group provide the data for Antje’s investigation.
“The focus of my PhD thesis is to explore whether there is a correlation between how health coaches communicate with pregnant women and the women’s motivation to engage in lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing gestational diabetes” Antje says. “I hope my research will add further weight to existing knowledge about patient-centred communication and behaviour change interventions.”
Antje will defend her PhD thesis in November 2024, further contributing to the project’s comprehensive research efforts.
Liz McGovern, University College Dublin
Liz’s research investigates the relationship between prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding practice. Liz explains,
“Breastfeeding self-efficacy is a person’s self-belief or confidence in their perceived ability to breastfeed. Those with higher postpartum levels have better breastfeeding outcomes, in terms of exclusivity and duration, and interventions to enhance it have proven positive results. The prenatal period is underserved in the literature. Yet an antenatal focus provides an opportunity to enhance this modifiable driver of breastfeeding earlier and over a longer period, maximising its potential impact.”
The research aims are pursued through a scoping review of the literature and secondary analysis of the Bump2Baby and Me study, exploring participants’ infant feeding attitudes and practices. The scoping review maps the research conducted in the prenatal period, exploring the theoretical underpinning of the studies, measurement tools and interventions used, and the corresponding breastfeeding outcomes. The secondary analysis focuses on feeding intention, breastfeeding initiation, and duration, as well as an in-depth look at the hospital experience in the Dublin site. Within each study, the impact of an early pregnancy measurement of feeding attitude, intention and proxy self-efficacy on outcomes is explored.
Liz’s PhD thesis aims to shine a light on the prenatal period as a missed opportunity to enhance breastfeeding self-efficacy, particularly in countries with low breastfeeding rates and formula-feeding cultures. She plans to submit her thesis in January 2025.
Laura O’Toole, University College Dublin
Laura’s research aims to explore the lived experiences of parents during the postnatal period; to identify common challenges they face, understand their support systems, and evaluate maternity services from a service-user perspective, to inform policy and practice. She plans to submit her thesis in September 2025.
Laura has conducted a scoping review of the literature and a series of semi-structured interviews with Bump2Baby and Me parents at 12 months postpartum. The scoping review provides a synopsis of the unmet healthcare needs in maternity postnatal services from a service-user perspective, in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and highlights the impact on parents’ health and wellbeing during the postnatal period.
Laura says she is “extremely thankful to the parents who took the time to participate in the interviews, sharing their stories. Understanding parents’ experiences of care provides maternity care services with an opportunity to develop policies that enable, rather than obstruct, a range of needs to be met. Given the recurring nature of parents’ less than satisfactory experiences of postnatal care in many countries, it is likely that co-designing and co-conducting research that matters most to them, not just to researchers or healthcare professionals, will have the greatest impact on their health, wellbeing and lives as they transition to parenthood.”
The future of maternal health
Together, these women represent the next generation of maternal and digital health researchers. Their combined efforts within the Bump2Baby and Me Project demonstrate how diverse academic perspectives can unite to address complex healthcare challenges. As their research progresses, we anticipate valuable insights that will shape the future of maternal and infant care.
Integrating these PhD projects within the larger Bump2Baby and Me initiative creates a dynamic ecosystem where academic rigour meets practical application. This approach not only enriches the project’s outcomes but also nurtures the development of skilled researchers poised to make significant contributions to the field of maternal health.