Category " Antenatal depression"

Making a positive difference to the lifelong mental health effects of the perinatal period  We all work towards every pregnancy, birth and postnatal period to be as healthy and happy as possible for all involved. That isn’t always the reality, especially regarding mental health. The Royal College of Midwifery recently published ‘Strengthening Perinatal Mental Health […]

Many years ago, I heard the Olympic athlete Sally Gunnell   speak about the two opposing internal voices we all have that influence what we do. There is the positive one that encourages and motivates us, telling us that we will succeed; that we are valued; that we have purpose. Then there is the other […]

My passion for perinatal mental health has returned (my previous blog explains why it had subsided) and I’d like to share some updates from the last couple of weeks. I joined a Forum for the Institute of Health Visiting  (iHV) last week in my role as a Champion for the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. It […]

Of the 250 babies born every minute globally, approximately 1 in 5 of their mothers will develop some form of perinatal mental illness. That is 72,000 women every day.  ‘These illnesses frequently go unnoticed and untreated, often with tragic and long-term consequences to both mother and child.’ http://wmmhday.postpartum.net/  “Suicide due to psychiatric illness is now […]

Historically, there are more unexpected pregnancies after the Christmas and New Year festivities than at any other time of the year. For example, read this BBC report here. It may be alcohol fuelled or due to more time off work and one cosy evening that results in a ‘surprise’ towards the end of January. For […]