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Posted on 29 Apr 2024

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 29 April to 5 May, with World Maternal Mental Health Day on 1 May. The week-long campaign is dedicated to talking about mental illness during and after pregnancy. The theme this year is ‘Rediscovering you’.

Led by the  Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK (PMHP UK) , the week aims to raise 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 around 20% of new and expectant mums 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.

Hear from Lisa Carter, Service Manager for Perinatal Mental Health Services at the Trust who talks about perinatal mental health and the importance of getting support if you are worried about yourself, your friends or loved ones.

At the Trust we are committed to supporting women and their families, during this difficult time. Many women won’t seek help because they are fearful of being judged that they are a bad parent or because they are fearful that their child will be taken from them, or that there is no help available.

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. You can find further advice on what to do if you are struggling on the Perinatal Mental Health Service web page.

Our  Perinatal Community Mental Health Team is a specialist perinatal service, available to provide assessment and treatment to women and support to partners.

Nicky shares her perinatal mental health story and her experience at the Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit when she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis in 2022. She says she remembers the overwhelming sense of relief knowing there was somewhere she could go to get the help she desperately needed. Nicky is now a Perinatal Peer Support Worker at the Trust helping other mums know that they are not alone and things do get better. Watch Nicky’s story below:

 

Health professionals

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 .

 

Perinatal Trauma and Bereavement Service

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.

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

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