Tag Archives: antenatal stress

DJ and broadcaster Neev Spencer to present perinatal mental health awards 2018

We are delighted to announce that DJ and broadcaster Neev Spencer, the biggest British Asian female broadcaster in the UK and a passionate campaigner for mental health, will present the annual perinatal mental health awards at this year’s Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) conference Diversity: Understanding and Reaching the Missing Families.

The Perinatal Mental Health Awards will be announced at the MMHA conference on 6th September 2018 at Imperial College, London. The awards are for services and individuals who show excellence in the categories of inclusivity; anti stigma; peer support; training and family focus.

In addition to talking about her own struggle with postnatal depression following the birth of her daughter, Neev has spoken with the Duchess of Cambridge on maternal mental health and made a film on postnatal depression with the Heads Together campaign. Last year she joined MMHA’s chair Dr Alain Gregoire as an expert panellist on the BBC 5 Live ‘Mum Takeover’ and worked on ‘The Mental Health Minute’ when 300 radio stations in the UK joined together on Mental Health Awareness Week.

Book your ticket for the conference here.

Follow us on @MMHAlliance using #MMHAconf2018 #MABIM. Follow Neev @neevofficial.

The annual MMHA conference is funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund.

Come and share your ideas – show them on a poster at the MMHA conference

Come and be part of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance conference “Diversity – understanding and reaching the missing families.” on 6th September, Imperial College London.

For the first time, this year we are inviting poster presentations from families who have lived experience of perinatal mental health difficulties, as well as academics, clinicians and service providers. We are particularly keen to see stories from families who have diverse experiences and backgrounds.

Posters need to be A2-sized and can use any medium to reflect your experiences: words, photography, images – whatever you need to get your experiences across.

Submit your poster by 20 August here. Click here for an easy guide to creating your poster presentation

In the growing field of perinatal mental health, there is a huge range of fantastic work happening around the country. Our poster presentations provide an opportunity to showcase your work and inspire others.

This year’s conference theme is “Diversity – understanding and reaching the missing families.” Topics covered include culture and migration, women with learning disabilities, women in the criminal justice system, military families, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families and more…

Winners of the 2018 Perinatal Mental Health Awards will also be announced at the Conference,  

Tickets available here.  Submit your poster idea here

 

 

 

 

Booking opens for the MMHA Conference 2018

MMHA Conference 2018: Diversity – understanding and reaching the missing families

6th September 2018
Imperial College, London

Registration has opened for the Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference 2018 – the annual conference dedicated to providing stimulating debate and discussion on perinatal mental health. This year’s theme is Diversity – understanding and reaching the missing families.

From key note speakers and a series of break-out sessions, the conference will provide an overview of the latest research on families experiencing barriers in accessing perinatal mental health support. It is an opportunity to highlight women’s experience and bring together practitioners from health and social care services to discuss diversity and mental health problems. Continue reading Booking opens for the MMHA Conference 2018 →

Mental Health Awareness Week: Stress in Pregnancy – Society’s Problem

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, which is focussing on stress and its detrimental consequences on mental health.

At the Maternal Mental Health Alliance we recognise how stress can negatively affect parents’ wellbeing and increase the risk of mental illness. When parents are feeling stressed, it also makes it harder for them to consider, reflect on and respond to their babies’ needs. And a huge body of research tells us that sensitive and responsive care is an essential ingredient in babies’ healthy brain development.

The research carries positive messages too. The results of stress are not inevitable and there are things we can all do to manage stress and reduced its impact. Furthermore, evidence shows that a good quality relationship between parents and babies after birth can mitigate the impact of early stress on babies’ development, which  is why services that support healthy parent-infant relationships are so critically important. Read our blog on stress in pregnancy here.

 

 

 

 

 

Stress in Pregnancy – Society’s Problem

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, which is focussing on stress and its detrimental consequences on mental health.

Here Sally Hogg, Strategic Lead for Mums and Babies in Mind, writes about how managing stress isn’t just a responsibility for individual mums – society needs to think about how we reduce stress on mothers.

At the Maternal Mental Health Alliance we recognise how stress can negatively affect parents’ wellbeing and increase the risk of mental illness. When parents are feeling stressed, it also makes it harder for them to consider, reflect on and respond to their babies’ needs. And a huge body of research tells us that sensitive and responsive care is an essential ingredient in babies’ healthy brain development.

Stress in pregnancy is associated with premature birth and low birth weight. We now know that maternal stress affects babies’ development antenatally too: Research found that babies whose mums had higher levels of stress in pregnancy were more likely to have mental health problems themselves in adolescence.

The research carries positive messages too. The results of stress are not inevitable and there are things we can all do to manage stress and reduced its impact. Furthermore, evidence shows that a good quality relationship between parents and babies after birth can mitigate the impact of early stress on babies’ development, which  is why services that support healthy parent-infant relationships are so critically important.

Continue reading Stress in Pregnancy – Society’s Problem →