Listening to women’s personal stories about suicide
An online thematic analysis of the discourse on UK parenting forum Mumsnet
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7154274 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joanne Mayoh (0000-0002-7878-0428, Bournemouth University, corresponding author), Kathryn Mcdonald (0000-0001-6321-9323, Bournemouth University), Ann Luce (0000-0001-7366-6805, Bournemouth University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1531-1548 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Feminist Media Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-0777 • E-ISSN: 1471-5902 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14680777.2024.2375390 |
| OpenAlex | W4400742983 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 57 |
The experience of pregnancy and motherhood is complex and changeable, marked by feelings of fulfilment, growth, and joy, but also depression, stress, anxiety, increased conflict, and regret. Yet the chaotic realities of motherhood remain taboo subjects, rarely discussed, in society and across the media. This paper shows how discussion forums can work as powerful outlets to capture the meaningful expression of viewpoints that mothers may not feel able to articulate or confess elsewhere. These anonymous online spaces offer a supportive space where the reality of the often-hidden maternal experience can be communicated, in resistance to the dominant narratives reinforcing the idea of the “good” mother. Analysis of UK forum Mumsnet suggests that public digital communities provide a valuable space to explore a socially relevant research area relating to maternal suicide and lived experience. This paper responds to a need to understand how women discuss suicidal thoughts, facilitating an understanding of the hidden discourse around motherhood. Through thematic analysis of Mumsnet posts (n = 4,186), five themes were identified: escaping the burden of motherhood; motherhood or pregnancy trauma as a trigger; feeling that children would be better off without them; children being a reason to live; and perceived shameful thoughts leading to silenced feelings
Active listening · Discourse analysis · Internet privacy · Linguistics · Media studies · Online forum · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Communication · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself
Analyzing Internet Forums
Prevalence of suicidality during pregnancy and the postpartum
Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts
Suicide as escape from self.
Parenthood, information and support on the internet. A literature review of research on parents and professionals online
Supermum, superwife, supereverything
The Gender Paradox in Suicide
The Social Roots of Suicide
What can “thematic analysis” offer health and wellbeing researchers?
Thematic analysis of qualitative data
Suicide, Stigma, and Utilizing Social Media Platforms to Gauge Public Perceptions
Racial/Ethnic Disparity in Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempt and Non-suicidal Intentional Self-harm Among Pregnant Women in the United States
Your mind is part of your body’
I miss my old life”
Motherhood online
Bad’ mums tell the ‘untellable’
Establishing research priorities for investigating male suicide risk and recovery
Fit to Reproduce? The Regulative Role of Pregnancy Texts
Suicidal and Online
Mothers with attitude — How the Mumsnet parenting forum offers space for new forms of femininity to emerge online
Perfect pregnancy? Pregnant bodies, digital leisure and the presentation of self
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Using the Responsible Suicide Reporting Model to increase adherence to global media reporting guidelines
Postpartum Depression
Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Finding Motivation
The mental load
My mum's thirty years out of date
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |