Looking after your mental health

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Your voice, your strength

Mother hugging her baby
What is maternal mental health?

You may have heard the terms “perinatal mental health” and “maternal mental health” used interchangeably. Both refer to mental health during pregnancy and up to two years after giving birth.

This page contains brief explanations to some of the questions you may have about neonatal care, or for when you arrive on a neonatal unit. We know how overwhelming it can be when you arrive on a neonatal unit with your baby. Parents often tell us it can be difficult to process all the information you are given.

Supporting Maternal Mental Health

Having a baby can be wonderful, life changing and amazing. It can also be difficult, painful and lonely. If you are struggling then you are not alone. Please do talk to someone you trust, or reach out to get the support you deserve Maternal Mental Health Alliance

We are thinking about mums and birthing people because we know the journey into and through parenthood can be hard. When you have a neonatal admission, it can be even harder. Being on a neonatal unit does often impact parent’s wellbeing and their mental health. We know this. That’s why we are working really hard to ensure that every parent has access to wellbeing and psychological support if they want it. And wherever your baby is, we want you to receive compassionate, thoughtful care. Many parents find the admission to a neonatal unit difficult, overwhelming or distressing. There is more on Managing the impact of admission here.

There are people who care about how you are doing, so even though it’s hard, please do connect with people to find companions on your journey. We are also thinking about dads, partners, non binary parents, step parents and anyone else in the life of a baby during their neonatal admission. We know it can be tough to make sense of or talk about how you are doing.

The maternal mental health alliance tell us that mum’s and birthing people are not being listened to about their mental health. If you are on a neonatal unit we want you to know it’s ok to talk about what you need, ask for help, find it hard, get upset, rely on others. Most units in London have a psychological professional whose job it is to listen to you. Talking to a psychological professional does not have to be about ‘coping’ or ‘weakness’. Actually to reach out is a sign of strength and you prioritising the things that will help you and help your baby. Don’t struggle alone.

Through our work programme we are training and supporting staff to deliver the care you need in a tough environment. We know we need to do more and we are stepping up to do this, thinking especially of families who face more barriers or have a tougher time in maternity and neonates.

How common is it to struggle around the time of having a baby?

Prevalence: Up to 27% of new and expectant mothers/parents in the UK experience perinatal mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. ​NHS England+1NHS England+1

Progress: Over 57,000 women accessed specialist perinatal mental health support in the past year, a 33% increase from the previous year. ​NHS England

Support from Maternal Mental Health Alliance who have co-produced a resource on recognising mental ill health in women and birthing people.

Their information Centre: The symptom checker is just one resource in the newly launched MMHA Information Centre, an online hub which aims to empower new and expectant parents, and those around them, with mental health knowledge before, during and after pregnancy. https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/about-maternal-mental-health/

Resources to help

We highlight organisations dedicated to supporting maternal mental health. Some of honourable mention are:

 

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