Posted By: Karen Middleton
28th January 2026
2 minute read
A new specialist, Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) has opened in the heart of Chester, the first of its kind supporting families across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.
Seren Lodge will provide compassionate care for pregnant and postnatal women, who are experiencing severe mental illness such as postnatal depression, psychosis or a relapse of an existing mental health condition.
Prof Bev Sapre, Clinical Director for Perinatal Services at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Whilst only a small number of women will need admission to a specialist unit like Seren Lodge, I’m delighted that we’ll be able to offer this care closer to home, in addition to the thousands of families we see in the community every year.”
Lived experience has been placed at the heart of Seren Lodge’s development and build. Working with women who had experienced maternal mental illness provided invaluable insight into how patient experience can be improved through design and thoughtful planning and has ensured the inclusion of details like cushioned headboards to make night feeds more comfortable for mums, and dimmable lighting.
One Lived Experience Expert involved, Nia said:
“Six years ago, my son was born and went into special care. As a result of this I became very unwell and was admitted to Manchester Mother and Baby Unit.
“From this experience I have campaigned for a specialist hospital for the North Wales area since 2021. I have been lucky to be involved from the start of Seren Lodge, from the design of the building up until now. This means Mothers and their families will be able to access this service from North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside.”
While there is an interim MBU in South Wales, this has not been sufficient to meet the level of need for families in Wales, especially those in North Wales. Seren Lodge will provide dedicated beds and Welsh-language resources for women from North Wales. The unit is a result of a unique partnership between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCHUB), Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England and NHS Wales.
Teresa Owen, Executive Director of Allied Health Professionals and Health Science, at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “(Seren Lodge’s opening) marks a significant step forward in bringing specialist perinatal mental health support closer to home for women in North Wales.”
We are delighted to see the opening of Seren Lodge, particularly as a cross-border partnership proving much needed support in North Wales. The evidence is clear that MBUs save lives and improve outcomes for mothers, birthing people and babies. Where they are not available, families are being let down. We continue to campaign to ensure all women, birthing people and babies across the UK have equitable access to this essential life-changing care.
Karen Middleton, Head of Campaigns & Policy
Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) are specialist, in-patient units which offer psychiatric treatment for mothers and birthing people in the later stages of pregnancy and at any point in their postnatal period up until their baby turns one. They provide psychiatric treatment for severe and complex perinatal mental illness to mothers and birthing people while specialist staff nurture and support the parent-infant relationship on the ward.
Currently, across the UK there are 22 MBUs, which are predominantly based in England and Scotland, with an interim unit in Wales There is still no MBU provision in Northern Ireland.
Members of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) in Northern Ireland are deeply concerned by a recent story shared by Shelley Browne, a mother separated from her newborn baby and admitted to a general psychiatric hospital for five weeks.
Following the birth of my son in 2012 I felt very unwell mentally. However, because Wales’ only mother and baby unit (MBU) in Cardiff was closed, I faced being admitted to an adult psychiatric ward without my baby.
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