All posts by Amy Tubb

International Women’s Day: embracing equity in perinatal mental health care

Blog by Laura Seebohm, CEO of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA)

“Health equity is determined by the conditions in which people live, grow, play, age. There’s a powerful social gradient associated with perinatal mental health which cannot be attributed to hormonal, biological differences.  This is about health inequalities which reflect social circumstances and gender norms. The impact of structural factors is often neglected.”
– Jane Fisher, Marce Society Conference September 2022

Equity is absolutely the right theme for International Women’s Day 2023. We are facing unprecedented poverty, growing health inequalities and increasing rates of gendered violence and abuse, and it is women who are disproportionately affected.

What does this mean for new and expectant mothers? How are they experiencing this extraordinary time of life within the political, social and economic landscape of 2023?  International Women’s Day gives us a great opportunity to reflect on the realities for women during the perinatal period.

In autumn 2022, the MMHA commissioned a poll of 500 new mothers from across the UK. The findings were illuminating: Continue reading International Women’s Day: embracing equity in perinatal mental health care →

iHV and MMHA work together to inform high-quality perinatal mental health care

 

    • Mental illness is the most common serious health problem that women experience during pregnancy and after birth, impacting around 1 in 5.
    • Without treatment, perinatal mental health (PMH) problems can have a devastating impact on individuals, families, and wider society.
    • In partnership with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) has produced a resource based on a review of 12 years of policy and research about what good PMH care looks like.
    • The resource aims to support services, individuals, multiagency groups and networks across health, public health, social care, and non-statutory services.

Today, the iHV and the MMHA are proud to share ‘Supporting High-Quality Perinatal Mental Health Care’, a new resource to enable and inform high-quality, compassionate care for families impacted by PMH problems. This collaboration began from a shared desire to encourage and embed good PMH practices within services supporting women and birthing people, babies, and their families. Continue reading iHV and MMHA work together to inform high-quality perinatal mental health care →

Winter 2022/23 Everyone’s Business eBulletin now available

The 25th edition of MMHA’s Everyone’s Business Campaign eBulletin is out now!

The Winter 2022/23 eBulletin has all the latest news from the campaign and UK perinatal mental health (PMH) sector, including:

    1. Key research findings from iHV’s annual survey and the latest MBRRACE report
    2. Campaign updates from the devolved nations
    3. Spotlight on domestic abuse and PMH
    4. New resources from MMHA members.

Download now

Please share widely on social media, tagging @MMHAlliance and #EveryonesBusiness.

See previous editions and Welsh language versions here.

Behind the scenes: Developing MMHA’s new strategy (2023-26)

Blog by Laura Seebohm, CEO of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA)

I am proud to share MMHA’s new strategy for 2023-26. Getting to this point has been the most absorbing, intense and inspiring journey, and the focus of my first year with the Alliance.

The next three years are expected to bring fresh challenges for the perinatal mental health and wider health and social care community. As ever, we are sensitive to the landscape and pressures on the workforce whilst being ambitious about what mums, babies and families need. Continue reading Behind the scenes: Developing MMHA’s new strategy (2023-26) →

Story so far: The Amplifying Maternal Voices Engagement Toolkit

Blog by Sian Drinkwater, Community Engagement Lead 

In partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, working on the Amplifying Maternal Voices (AMV) project has been a hugely insightful experience. Two of the key outputs from the project include hosting a national perinatal mental health conference and developing an engagement toolkit to inspire action and change at a local level.

At the halfway point, we wanted to reflect on the story so far of the development of the AMV engagement toolkit, which the MMHA is leading. Continue reading Story so far: The Amplifying Maternal Voices Engagement Toolkit →

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

When is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2023?

Monday 1 – Sunday 7 May 2023

PMHP Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2023What is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week?

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is a week-long campaign dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy.

The week is all about:

  • raising public and professional awareness of perinatal mental health problems
  • advocating for women and families impacted by it
  • changing attitudes
  • helping people access the information, care and support they need to recover.

Who is it organised by?

The week is organised and led by MMHA member the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK (PMHP UK), who launched the first-ever UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week nearly a decade ago in 2014.

PMHP UK is a small group of individuals, including parents with lived experience and clinicians, who came together to raise awareness of maternal mental health.

What is this year’s theme?

The overall theme of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 is ‘Together in a changing world’.

Daily topics and activities will be announced shortly…

Remembering and celebrating Dr Margaret Rose Oates OBE, MB, ChB, FRCPsych, FRCOG

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Margaret Rose Oates OBE, MB, ChB, FRCPsych, FRCOG; a visionary perinatal psychiatrist, pioneer and leader who changed the lives of countless women and their families.

Friend and colleague, Dr Roch Cantwell, kindly agreed to share a few words on the unique life and legacy of Dr Oates:

Continue reading Remembering and celebrating Dr Margaret Rose Oates OBE, MB, ChB, FRCPsych, FRCOG →

Lynette’s story

Connecting with other women with similar experiences to mine has played a huge part in my recovery.

Lynette (Lisburn)

I had a traumatic experience when I gave birth to my twins in February 2020. This led to me missing out on our first bonding experiences but for the first few weeks I was okay and adjusted to life as a mum of two. Then, four weeks later, we entered the first lockdown of the Covid pandemic.

My partner was a key worker, so he kept working throughout. Without any visitors allowed, I became very isolated. I’d had so many plans for my maternity leave, such as going to groups and meeting other parents, but I couldn’t do any of that.

Losing my identity

My mood became very low and I started to feel anxious all the time. I also internalised a lot of my feelings and worried when people came to visit that they only wanted to see the babies. I felt like I’d lost a big part of my identity.

It all came to a head one day when I was playing with my twins and had the thought, “I could just disappear”. I knew then that I wasn’t okay and told my husband how I was feeling. He encouraged me to call the doctor. The first response I got from the doctor’s receptionist was, “Is this important?”. But I pushed forward and asked for help.

Early support is vital

After an assessment from the mental health team, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and prescribed medication to help with my mood, and I was referred to my local Maternal Advocacy and Support [MAs] group. It took me a long time to build up the confidence to attend, but as soon as I walked into the first meeting I knew I was in the right place.

Connecting with other women with similar experiences to mine has played a huge part in my recovery. There is no judgement and you can laugh, cry and giggle with women who know where you’re coming through. I have mum friends now!

I wish I had known about services like the MAs group sooner and shared how I was feeling at an earlier stage. I also believe it’s important that health and social care professionals understand how hard it is for new mums who may be struggling to seek support. They need to actively share with the mums the amazing services which could help them.

Find out more about the MAs project, led by MMHA member Women’s Resource and Development Agency (WRDA), on our blog or on the WRDA website.

If the content of this story causes you to think of anything that has happened to you or someone you know and you feel upset, worried or uncomfortable, please see our support page for a list of services that may be able to help.

Natalie’s story

I do worry for other women experiencing perinatal OCD. Awareness and understanding needs to increase among healthcare professionals.

Natalie (Barnsley)

I became a mum for the first time at the age of 17. The birth was a traumatic experience which ended with me having an emergency C-section. Afterwards, I would constantly think that I was going to lose him. So much so that throughout the night, every 30 minutes, I had to check that he was okay. Behaviour that left me exhausted and even more susceptible to intrusive thoughts.

My health visitor picked up on how I was feeling and advised me to see my GP. But the doctor misdiagnosed me with postnatal depression and only offered me antidepressants. I didn’t take these because I didn’t feel depressed. I wasn’t offered any other support.

Constant intrusive thoughts

Thankfully, with the support of my husband and family, after several months my intrusive thoughts began to subside. But six years later, following three miscarriages, similar thoughts began to overwhelm me when I became pregnant again. Every day I couldn’t stop thinking that I was going to miscarry again, and I constantly feared for the safety of my unborn baby and my son.

One day, my husband returned home early from a work trip to find that I’d barricaded all the doors and windows so no one could get in. I thought I was just being safe, but he saw that I needed help and contacted my local perinatal mental health team. They diagnosed me with perinatal OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder].

Early intervention is vital

Following my diagnosis, things got worse before they got better. I became suicidal and my husband had to take time off work to look after me and my son. I couldn’t function. It was a very scary time. But after I started CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] and gave birth to my daughter, my symptoms started to ease. I was able to bond with my daughter and started attending peer support groups, which I found so helpful.

Today, things are so much better. But I do worry for other women experiencing perinatal OCD. Awareness and understanding need to increase among healthcare professionals, because early intervention is vital to good outcomes. I’d also like to see better support for family and friends, so they can spot warning signs early and know how to support someone going through this.

Perinatal OCD is an incredibly difficult condition to deal with, especially if you don’t get the right support at the right time. But I do want others to know that with the support of family and friends and maternal and mental health professionals, things can and do get better.

For more information about perinatal OCD, visit MMHA member Maternal OCD’s website.

 

If the content of this story causes you to think of anything that has happened to you or someone you know and you feel upset, worried or uncomfortable, please see our support page for a list of services that may be able to help.

Reflections on the latest findings from MBRRACE (2018-20)

By Laura Seebohm, CEO of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA)

Many of us steel ourselves each year to read the MBRRACE’s Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in the UK and Ireland. The findings launched today are tragic; I think we probably all knew that they would be. The report covers the period 2018 – 2020, during which time we experienced our first lockdown and a light was shone on mental health and deep-seated deprivation and inequality in this country.

Before reflecting on today’s report, I want to explicitly acknowledge the importance of these enquiries. The methodology used is honourable, underpinned by a philosophy ‘to recognise and respect every maternal death as a young woman who died before her time, a mother, a member of a family and of her community’ (Gwyneth Lewis OBE, former Chair). Going well beyond the statistics, these reports tell stories. They are fundamental to how we learn lessons and save lives in the future.

Continue reading Reflections on the latest findings from MBRRACE (2018-20) →