Pregnancy as control: co-producing trauma-informed perinatal mental health pathways with women with insecure immigration status who have experienced reproductive coercion(code C1.1_Sheffield)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Inequalities Challenge: Maternity Disparities Consortium (MDC) is proud to announce its PhD Studentship competition. We are seeking the next generation of researchers to help us tackle persistent inequalities in maternity. 

The MDC brings together a UK wide collaboration of universities, NHS trusts, councils, charities, and industry partners. You can find information about our consortium members here. Our goal is to improve outcomes for women and babies before, during, and after pregnancy through inclusive, evidence-based research. 

Capacity Development

The MDC capacity development programme aims to build the next generation of maternity disparities research leaders, strengthen the workforce to deliver and sustain impact across the UK and deliver on the government priorities including the Women’s Health Strategy for England and 10 Year Health Plan for England.  

The Consortium focuses on growing long-term research capacity and expertise, especially within underrepresented disciplines, professions and underserved communities; inspiring and supporting the next generation of researchers with the right skills mix to work across clinical, practice and research sectors.  

The Opportunity

We are offering up to 13 funded PhD studentships across a range of potential projects at universities across our Consortium. We are specifically looking to grow research capacity in methodological areas, including but not limited to, health economics, statistics, trial design, digital research, data science, implementation science and co-production methods where expertise is currently limited. 

Start: January 2027 

Duration: Up to 3 years (Full-Time) or 4 years (Part-Time).

Funding:  

• Full home tuition fees covered (at 2026/27 UK rates). 
• Tax-free annual stipend at UKRI rates (£21,805/£23,805 outside London/ inside London from 1^st October 2026). 
• £5,000 (per award) contribution towards research, travel, training and consumables. 
• International students are welcome to apply but must secure alternative funding for the difference between UK and Overseas tuition fees

The Project

Reproductive coercion, where a partner or family member controls a woman’s reproductive choices through forced or sabotaged contraception, pressure to continue or end a pregnancy, or the use of pregnancy and children to entrench dependency or prevent a woman leaving a relationship or the country, is a recognised but seriously under-researched form of abuse. Existing evidence comes predominantly from the United States, and almost no UK research has examined reproductive coercion in relation to perinatal mental health, and none has examined it specifically among women with insecure immigration status (including those with no recourse to public funds, asylum seekers and refugees), for whom immigration precarity can itself become a tool of coercive control. 

This PhD will co-produce, with women who have experienced reproductive coercion and with relevant community and specialist organisations, an understanding of how reproductive coercion shapes perinatal mental health and engagement with maternity and mental health services among this population, and will use these insights to co-design a trauma-informed, culturally safe pathway model. The project will progress through phases of participatory exploration of experience (working sensitively with survivors and community partners), co-design of a pathway/practice model with women, specialist VAWG and migrant-support organisations and perinatal mental health services, and a feasibility assessment of the model with services.  This addresses a clear capacity gap: participatory research with women with insecure immigration status is methodologically and ethically demanding, requiring particular expertise in safe recruitment, trauma-informed practice, and working without conventional NHS-number-based pathways, expertise that is currently limited within maternity research.

Ethical and safety considerations are central to this project: robust safeguarding protocols, careful attention to disclosure risk and immigration-status safety, trauma-informed research training for the student, and close working with specialist organisations experienced in supporting this population will be built into the studentship design and ethics application from the outset.

Contact Supervisor – Parveen Ali: [email protected]

Who is a MDC PhD studentship for? 

We welcome applications from individuals passionate about maternal health equity with particular methodology knowledge and experience. We are committed to building a supportive, inclusive, and caring research community. We particularly encourage applications from: 

• People from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. 
• People with disabilities, neurodivergent conditions, and long-term health requirements 
• Candidates of all genders, ages, and beliefs. 
• We encourage applicants with experience of a wide range of methodologies to apply if they believe they can bring valuable skills to research on maternity inequalities. If it is not immediately obvious, please use your cover letter to explain how your disciplinary background will allow you to carry out your research. 

Eligibility Criteria

Essential

• First/Upper Second-Class Honours degree (2:1 or above) in a relevant subject.
• A Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field .
• Understanding of and commitment to tackling maternity inequalities. 
• Relevant previous research experience – this experience may be relevant to either the research or methodological area. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Highly motivated. 
• Able to work both independently and as part of a team. 
• Able to plan and manage own work. 
• International applicants are welcome to apply for studentships, but applicants who are selected for interview must be able to provide proof of funding for international fees and immigration costs prior to their interview.   

*All students will be expected to be based at their host university and meet the individual university PhD studentship regulations. Please check individual university postgraduate admissions.

Accessibility and Support

We want you to perform at your best. You may contact individual supervisors when asking for more details about the projects and your suitability for the project. General enquiries about the recruitment process and MDC, including if you require any reasonable adjustments for the application process or the interview (such as alternative formats, extra time, or specific technological needs), please contact:  [email protected].  

NIHR and DHSC have a duty as a public body to promote equality of opportunity.  We will contact all applicants throughout the application period with an Equality Monitoring Form. Monitoring ensures that all applications to NIHR MDC Programmes are treated equally in terms of gender, ethnicity and/or disability. Information will be anonymised and stored separately from your application, only be used for the purpose of monitoring equal opportunities and be kept securely and in confidence.