The conversation about family planning and desire for children in mental healthcare 209 wide. As mental healthcare evolves quickly recollections may vary between younger and older participants. Hence, recollections might not represent current healthcare practices. Furthermore, panel members might be a vocal group of patients and close ones and not represent patients who are unable to share or communicate their experiences. The non-response bias evoked from these patients might incorrectly under or overestimate results39. The same holds true for the MHPs, who agreed to respond to the survey about family planning. They might already have an interest in this topic, underscoring that improving knowledge about family planning amongst MHPs is even more urgent30. Recommendations for future research It would be interesting to study how conversations about family planning can be implemented in mental healthcare and how patients and close ones experience this by making use of patient journeys. An unsolved question remains why patients are unwilling to discuss contraceptive care with their MHP. Conclusions To enable the desired conversation about family planning in mental healthcare, MHPs should receive education about psychiatric vulnerability in relation to family planning. Based on our findings we advise MHPs to explore the desire to discuss family planning with all patients during the reproductive phase of life and empower them to initiate the conversation themselves within a trustful therapeutic relationship.
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