“This team saved my life and my relationship with my baby and I’ll be eternally grateful.”

This week, the Perinatal Mental Health Service (PNMH) at our Trust have been marking Maternal Mental Health Week by promoting the support available to pregnant and new mothers experiencing mental health issues in the local area.

The Trust’s Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team are an award-winning multi professional team that offer assessment, treatment and liaison for women experiencing mental health problems in pregnancy and in the postnatal period. The service is open to women who are registered with a GP practice in the Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire currently within the perinatal period (during pregnancy and up to 12 months post- delivery).

One mother, known as ‘Toria’ has been sharing her own experiences of dealing with mental health struggles and accessing the Perinatal Mental Health Service. Her incredible story shines a light on the hugely important work the service does to support new and expectant mothers.

In a blog about her experience and work with the service, Toria speaks vividly about her own struggles, “I had no connection to the life growing inside of me – I told no one for as long as possible and felt like a stranger in my own body”. Feelings like this and others, can affect one in five women and could have long-lasting effects on the woman and her family if left untreated.

Perinatal mental health (PMH) problems are those which occur during pregnancy or in the first year following the birth of a child. Perinatal mental illness affects up to 27% of new and expectant mums and covers a wide range of conditions.

The Specialist Perinatal Mental Health team work with these women to address their needs and support their recovery so that they can also build a strong healthy relationship with their baby. Toria said, “They placed the scaffolding around me until I was secure and then gave me the support to remove it piece by piece”.

Claire Marshall, Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Nurse and Clinical Lead said, “When Toria was first referred to the team she was distressed, struggling to see that there was a future for her and baby, and questioning her abilities as a mother. Toria’s recovery is testament to the importance of women being able to access specialised perinatal mental health care and support at this critical and sometimes frightening time of life and our Team feel privileged to have walked alongside her during her journey to motherhood.”

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is a week-long campaign running through until 5 May 2024. The week is dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy. Designed to raise public awareness of perinatal mental health problems and advocating for the women and families who are impacted by them.

Over the course of the week the Perinatal Mental Health team have been delivering a range of supportive activities to promote the cause and highlight where support is available to those that need it. They have run mother and baby celebration events, at Mother and Baby Groups delivered by Early Years Practitioners, as well as developing awareness materials for new partners and fathers.

View the full story by service user Toria here.

For more information on specialist perinatal support, visit the Every Mum Matters website.