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Posted on 28 Apr 2023

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is from 1 to 7 May, with World Maternal Mental Health Day on 3 May. The week-long campaign is dedicated to talking about mental illness during and after pregnancy. It is led by the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK (PMHP UK).

The theme this year is ‘Together in a changing world’. The week is about raising public and professional awareness of perinatal mental illness, advocating for women affected by it, and helping them access the information, care and support they need to recover.

Perinatal mental health refers to a woman’s mental health during pregnancy and the first year after birth. This affects more than one in 10 women in the UK each year. This includes mental illness existing before pregnancy, as well as illnesses that develop for the first time, or are greatly exacerbated in the perinatal period.

Examples of perinatal mental illness include antenatal depression, postnatal depression, anxiety, perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These illnesses can be mild, moderate or severe, requiring different kinds of care or treatment. If untreated these illnesses can have a devastating impact on women and their families.
 

Join our Perinatal Wellbeing Workshop

Do you or someone you know have little ones in the family, or are expecting to in the future?

Our Perinatal Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) are holding a free perinatal wellbeing drop-in session on Wednesday 3 May, 9.30am to 1.00pm. This takes place at the Nottingham Women’s Centre, 30 Chaucer St, Nottingham NG1 5LP. Refreshment will be provided. The team will be talking about emotional wellbeing in pregnancy and early parenting and sessions will include:

• What is Perinatal emotional wellbeing?
• How is wellbeing affected in pregnancy and the early years?
• Learn ways to self-care and care for mothers
• Find out about the support available

Supporting women and their families

At the Trust we are committed to supporting women and their families, during this difficult time. We want women and families to know that there is help available local to you.  Please speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor and they may start some treatment and advise on where you can get help and make referrals if needed. 

Every year, around 20% of women will develop mental health problems in the perinatal period.  Our Perinatal Community Mental Health Team is a specialist perinatal service, available to provide assessment and treatment to women and support to partners. The animation below gives an account of the journey of two women who developed mental health problems in the perinatal period.

 

Our Perinatal Trauma and Bereavement Service offers therapy and support to women who experience PTSD relating to childbirth or loss of a baby in the perinatal period. 

The service can support people who are:

• Experiencing PTSD relating to their birth experience.
• Experiencing PTSD following bereavement in the perinatal period including difficulties relating to miscarriage, termination of pregnancy for any reason, stillbirth, and neonatal death.
• Experiencing a severe fear of childbirth which may or may not be related to a previous birth experience.

Health professionals

Any health professional can refer to Perinatal Psychiatry or the Perinatal Trauma and Bereavement Service.

If you are working with a woman and you have concerns about her mental health in the perinatal period, please consider making a referral to the Nottingham Perinatal Community Mental Health Team (after gaining consent).  You can contact the service for advice on 0115 9529477 and send referrals to PerinatalCommunityReferrals@nottshc.nhs.uk.

Further useful information can be found on the Maternal Mental Health Alliance website. including information about Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.