Dear Ritah,
Yes, it is possible but how easy or difficult it is depends on how diverse a sample you want and how much of a geographical spread you are looking at. I have often done this for pilot work
If you are looking for a local sample, you could ask local baby product shops if you can put up posters/have leaflets on the counter etc. You can also ask your university (and other large businesses) to ask staff. You can try for a snowball sample through local contacts.
For a national sample, forums such as Mumsnet will often display requests for a small fee, and you can again use snowball methods from this starting point.
All of these methods can be successful although you may not achieve a diverse sample.
If you choose not to go through NHS ethics, don't foget that as well as doing your project ethically, many journals will ask/require that your study has been through ethical review. We always get approval from our Univertiy's ethics committee if not recruiting through the NHS
Regards
Pam
Dr Pam Lowe
Senior Lecturer in Sociology
Aston University
Aston Triangle
Birmingham
B4 7ET
0121 204 3807
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From: A forum for discussion on midwifery and reproductive health research. [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Ritah Tweheyo [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 11 May 2012 01:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Recruiting pregnant women
Dear all,
I would like to learn from your experiences and advice regarding how to recruit pregnant and postpartum women without using the NHS.
I am a PhD student, (but not a midwife) and interested in interviewing women (pregnant and women in postpartum) about food, diet and behaviours. With time and resource constraints, i wanted to explore the possibility of recruiting women outside the NHS because of the long duration it can take to get NHS ethics approval.
Recruitment of pregnant women would ideally be before their first midwife appointment or there about; then other women in the postpartum, anytime 2weeks to 6weeks after childbirth. there is also a group of never pregnant, not pregnant women for comparison.
Is it possible to recruit these women for my study without using the NHS? Any advice and guidance is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Regards
Ritah Tweheyo
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