Loneliness in pregnant and postpartum women and parents of children aged five years or younger: a scoping review protocol
Authors: Kent-Marvick Jacqueline , Simonsen Sara , Pentecost Ryoko , McFarland Mary M. 
Published: May 2020

Background Researchers have only recently begun to conduct studies on the concept of loneliness during pregnancy and the transition into parenthood. Extensive study of loneliness in older adults has connected loneliness with mental and physical well-being, and with depressive symptoms, impaired sleep, increased vascular resistance, increased systolic blood pressure, etc. New parents’ experience of loneliness, however, has not been a specific focus of study. Research indicates that although loneliness is common across the lifespan, its highest incidence is in those aged 16 to 24, and risk of loneliness and related factors rises during transitional periods. The few studies targeting maternal loneliness indicate it may be predominantly situational. Transition-to-motherhood studies illustrate the importance of social support, which in turn is seen as predicting postpartum depression. Scarcity of parenthood-loneliness inquiries leaves a gap in our understanding of new parenthood. Further inquiry is needed to identify effects of loneliness on the health and well-being of parents and their children. Methods The scoping review to be conducted is designed to answer the question, “What is the research or evidence about loneliness in pregnancy and the new-parent population?” Secondary questions include, “What are the targeted populations of the research done to date on the topic of loneliness during pregnancy and in new parents?”, “What methodologies have been used to research the topic, and how has loneliness been measured and defined in this population?” and, “What, if any, questions that help to define the nature of maternal loneliness have already been answered (e.g., how common is loneliness within this group? are there differences between stratified groups within this population? what are the associated factors? what factors are protective? how does loneliness affect bonding? does it affect infant development? etc.)?” In accordance with scoping-review procedure, we will follow Arksey’s outline, as expanded by Peters and The Joanna Briggs Institute, using Arksey’s five stages: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying relevant studies, 3) selecting studies, 4) charting the data and 5) collating and reporting the results. We will follow PRISMA reporting guidelines for scoping reviews to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Multiple databases were searched. EndNote (Clarivate Analytics) will be used to manage citations and remove duplicates. Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation), an online systematic reviewing platform, will be used to screen and review search results. Two reviewers (JK, RP), working independently of each other, will screen the titles and abstracts of the articles returned by the searches, then screen the selected full-text articles, and extract data into REDCap. A third reviewer (SS) will be available to cast the deciding vote in case no consensus is reached between the two reviewers. Results will be given in narrative form, and will be mapped and illustrated. Discussion This scoping review aims to capture the state of the current literature on loneliness in pregnancy and new parenthood in order to identify gaps and make recommendations for future areas of study and related interventions.