International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the achievements of women from the past, and shine a light on the work being done by women for the pursuit of gender equality. International Women’s Day also creates an opportunity to raise awareness of the issues that many women continue to face across the globe.

Faced with social expectations of motherhood, as well as cultural, religious and economic factors – many new and expectant mums dealing with mental health problems often suffer in silence.

In the UK, more than 1 in 10 women develop mental health problems during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth, and around half of them have little to no access to specialist perinatal mental health services, making it difficult for them to get the help and support that they need.

Sally Hogg, Strategic Lead for Mums and Babies in Mind said:

“Perinatal mental health has been ignored and undervalued for too long. Not only is it a woman’s health issue, but it is also a mental health issue and we are still a long way from achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical health. We will continue to work to ensure that this important area of healthcare gets the attention it deserves – harnessing the powerful voices of women themselves to help make the case for change.”

From health care professionals, employers, to family and friends, we all have a role to play in supporting women who are dealing with perinatal mental health problems. Start by signing up to our Mums and Babies in Mind blog, check out our Everyone’s Business campaign maps to see just how patchy the current provision of services is and visit the new Global Alliance site, launched today.