Table 1_Bridging gaps in perinatal mental health services for socioeconomically disadvantaged women.docx

While national policies have aimed to improve PMH services, disparities in awareness, accessibility, and engagement persist. This study explored the challenges and facilitators to PMH service access in the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) region in England, with a focus on identifying actions to improve accessibility.</p>Methods<p>A two-phase qualitative study was conducted with 43 participants.

Phase 1 involved semi-structured interviews with service providers from healthcare, voluntary, and community sectors who support women experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage (n = 23). Phase 2 comprised interviews with women from diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds who had experienced PMH challenges (n = 20). Data were analysed thematically and subsequently mapped to Levesque's conceptual framework of healthcare access, to examine individual and system-level factors influencing access to and engagement with PMH services.</p>Results<p>Findings highlight multiple barriers to accessing PMH care, including the lack of routine mental health discussions in antenatal care, limited visibility of services, cultural stigma, and structural challenges such as service fragmentation and system distrust.