Tag Archives: postnatal depression

Perinatal Positivity Pot: Using creative practice for maternal mental health and wellbeing

Guest blog by Holly Latham, Lived Experience Coordinator

Growing research has shown that arts, crafts, creative writing, music, and dance can be incredibly beneficial in supporting mental health.

In celebration of Friday’s theme for Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, it’s time to focus on hope, recovery, and self-care. 

As someone who personally experienced postnatal depression after the birth of my daughter, I’ve been prompted to reflect on what helped me through those dark days. While there was a myriad of things that helped, such as family support, talking therapy, medication, and time, it was engaging in creative practices, particularly stitching, that made a profound impact on my recovery and continued wellbeing. Continue reading Perinatal Positivity Pot: Using creative practice for maternal mental health and wellbeing →

Eleanor’s story

I was assigned a perinatal mental health nurse and a nursery nurse, who worked with my baby and me on our bonding. It was invaluable being under their care.

Eleanor (Bromley)

The scariest part of my PND [postnatal depression] was the intrusive thoughts I had about harming my baby. I realised that this wasn’t just ‘the baby blues’ and contacted a great mental health midwife who I’d been referred to during my pregnancy because of previous episodes of depression.

I told her what had been happening, and how I was feeling and answered her questions. She coordinated everything for me. I was referred to my local perinatal mental health team, encouraged to speak to my GP about medication, and it was suggested I look into counselling. I felt a huge amount of relief just having this conversation.

Support at home really helped

However, the day after I spoke to the midwife, I hit a lower point and ended up in A&E. The crisis team there gave me the option of going to a mother and baby unit but I felt like I had enough support at home.

I was given medication to help with my anxiety and intrusive thoughts and was referred to the home treatment team, who visited me daily for two weeks. It was reassuring to have someone coming to our home to touch base throughout this crisis.

After this point, my care was taken over by the community perinatal mental health team. I was assigned a perinatal mental health nurse and a nursery nurse, who worked with my baby and me on our bonding. It was invaluable being under their care, and after six months I was discharged.

I’m really enjoying being a mum

Alongside the help of the perinatal team, I also accessed peer support through a Mindful Mums course and a weekly meeting with MMHA member organisation, PANDAS. The moment I realised how far I had come was when my baby was napping one day and I found myself thinking, “Wake up! Let’s hang out and have some fun!”

I still have intrusive thoughts sometimes but I’ve made peace with them, and they don’t scare me anymore. I have worked to understand them and why they happen, and this has helped hugely. My bond with my daughter is so strong now, and I’m really enjoying being a mum. We’re a great team!

 

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.

New mothers in England to receive dedicated six-week check

Last week, MMHA member NCT were able to celebrate after hearing the news that NHS England and the British Medical Association have agreed to fund a six-week assessment for mums under the new GP contract. They won’t have to wait long for the change either, as plans come into effect from April 2020. Continue reading New mothers in England to receive dedicated six-week check →

Professional bodies welcome report highlighting need for more maternal mental health experts

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) are delighted the NHS Benchmarking report on Universal Perinatal Mental Health Findings was published on Friday 14 September.

Prior to this study, information on service provision and staffing of universal perinatal mental health (PMH) services was not available at a national level.

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) are delighted the NHS Benchmarking report on Universal Perinatal Mental Health Findings was published on Friday 14 September.

The data collected from providers suggested that:

Capacity in universal services is very limited and does not provide the necessary broad base from which the Specialist PMH services can operate effectively and efficiently.

The provision of specialist perinatal mental health care within universal services is highly variable across England, with some areas having no, or limited, provision (obstetric & midwifery providers 61%; health visiting providers 30%).

The large gap in health visiting PMH capacity was particularly evident, with 70% of providers having no specialist provision within the service.

This report is critical because it focuses on the universal element, where the vast majority of women need to receive their care. Universal services are a crucial element of the PMH care pathway at every local level and have the potential to create great savings in relation to both human and economic costs in the short and long term.

Alain Gregoire, Chair of the MMHA, said:

“There has been excellent progress in funding specialist perinatal service provision across England, but we know that specialist services alone are not enough.  All women in pregnancy and postnatally should have equitable access to the support, prevention and treatment they need for their mental health as much as for their physical health. This report shows that investment is essential to ensure that there are sufficient, well-trained staff across universal services so that women get the care they should expect from the NHS, and our children can get the best start in life.”

Read the full statement from the MMHA, iHV, RCOG and RCM here.

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

 

 

 

 

Organising the Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference 2018

by Katrina Jenkins, Project Manager Families, Children and Young People’s Programmes 

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference 2018 is an annual event dedicated to stimulating debate and the sharing of ideas for good practice in the field of perinatal mental health. This exciting event is organised by the Mental Health Foundation on behalf of the  Maternal Mental Health Alliance (of which we are a member).

This is how I became involved in this national conference. As Project Manager in the Families, Children and Young People’s Programmes team at the Mental Health Foundation, my role includes the organisation of this year’s Conference.

Each year, the Maternal Mental Health Conference delivers a unique theme which corresponds to pertinent areas of interest in perinatal mental health.

I was fortunate to have been able to attend the conference last year, on the theme of Intergenerational mental health: working with mums and babies in perinatal mental health practice. Along with 250 other delegates, I gained a wealth of learning and deepened my understanding of how a whole-family approach can break the intergenerational cycle of mental health problems.

I am even more excited about the theme for this year’s Maternal Mental Health Conference – Diversity: Understanding and reaching the missing families. This topic is uniquely interesting as it offers an exceptional opportunity to explore important but seldom-heard voices in perinatal mental health. Continue reading Organising the Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference 2018 →

Maternal Journal – how creative journaling can support pregnant women and new mothers, with a history of mild to moderate mental health problems

Laura Godfrey-Isaacs is an artist, community midwife at King’s College Hospital, London and  a project producer for Maternal Journal.

Maternal Journal was created by myself and psychiatrist Professor Carmine Pariante. It is an interdisciplinary collaborative project with Kings College London’s’ Department of Psychological Medicine & Department of Women’s Health, Ovalhouse and The Royal College of Art. Maternal Journal explores the therapeutic potential of journaling as a way to promote wellbeing and positive mental health for pregnant women and new mothers, who have a history of mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety.

Continue reading Maternal Journal – how creative journaling can support pregnant women and new mothers, with a history of mild to moderate mental health problems →

Physical and Mental Health in the Postnatal Period

Emma Brockwell is a women’s health physiotherapist in Surrey, with a particular passion for helping women to recover after birth. Here she writes about the links between physical and mental health in the postnatal period.

Pregnancy and childbirth are life-changing events that affect women both physically and mentally. Whilst their impacts affect women at different levels and in many different ways, it is rare to have a baby and not be affected in some capacity. As a women’s health physiotherapist I see that physical and mental health issues often go hand in hand, but as a system we are very poor at seeing and treating these conditions and giving women the holistic care that they need.

Continue reading Physical and Mental Health in the Postnatal Period →

Strengthening parent-infant mental health in Warwickshire

Sophy Forman-Lynch has worked in the field of public health for 24 years in the UK, Pakistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and India.

She has worked in maternal and child health, mental health and well-being, alcohol and substance misuse, offender health, sexual health and asset-based community approaches.

Sophy is currently working for the Public Health Team in Warwickshire County Council with a focus on the ‘early years’. This includes involvement in the re-commissioning of health visiting services.

In 2016 Warwickshire’s multi-agency strategic Smart Start Programme undertook three pieces of research to hear the voices and experiences of over of 1,030 Warwickshire parents of children aged 0-5 years (including expectant parents), and 275 multi-agency staff working with expectant parents and young families.

Parents and workers told us that more needed to be done to promote and support parent-infant mental health and wellbeing in Warwickshire.

The experience of loneliness and social isolation amongst new parents was common, and was frequently reported to have had a significant impact on their mental health and wellbeing. Continue reading Strengthening parent-infant mental health in Warwickshire →