My Blog

The year after my book ‘Eyes without Sparkle- a journey through postnatal illness’  was published in 2005, I was invited by the President of the Marce Society  to open their International conference with my presentation. I was so excited! The location? Keele University, just down the road from me on the M6!

I felt so honoured to be in the company of people from all around the world who meet every couple of years to share the latest research and development around maternal mental health. My admiration and interest in the Society has remained ever since. I did go out to Sydney, Australia, to the next meeting back in 2008. I certainly needed my passport on that trip!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to attend the UK and Ireland meeting of the society that was held in London this time. The day got off to an excellent start when the train journey was passed very swiftly by sitting with Julie Rawlinson and Anne Prendergast from the Liverpool based PSS service for postnatal depression. They have a forum here.

It is always such a joy to be with others who dedicate their time and passion to helping young families have a happier and healthier experience. They have a wonderful conference coming up on October 15^th  at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool (change of venue).

Once in London we made our way to the venue in Pall Mall. Throughout the day there were a number of bright young people who presented their current work for PhD studies based around maternal mental health. These included topics such as antenatal depression, ethnic density,  effects of medication on the babies, the use of the Whooley questions and stressful life events. I confess that these speakers made me feel old! Most importantly, their genuine interest, concern and determination to improve the knowledge to help new mothers were very impressive. I wish them every success with their research.

It was lovely to renew relationships with some other attendees. One such person was Jan Cubison who is based in Sheffield. She spoke to us all about the peer support work that they do and also the work done by Sheffield Light.

Another influential person in this area is Dr Ian Jones. He gave a presentation on the work done by the Bi-Polar Disorder Research Network  and what we have learnt about postpartum triggering from their study.

Chris Cuthbert from the NSPCC spoke about their programmes which are concerned with maternal mental health due to the impact it can have on children. Have a look via http://www.nspcc.org.uk/ at ‘Minding the Baby’, ‘Baby Steps’ and ‘Parents under Pressure’ (which looks at substance abuse).  There are some very useful films for health professionals here.

We also heard from Netmums who are about to release the results of a survey they have done on postnatal illness. Watch this space http://www.netmums.com/home/netmums-campaigns/postnatal-depression-research

We were honoured to have John Cox speak to us about a recent paper of his that has been published regarding Person Centred Perinatal Psychiatry.  John has dedicated many, many years to the field of maternal mental health and has written many books, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score manual.

Also represented during the day were the co-founders of Maternal OCD . This is a voluntary organisation dedicated to raising the profile of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) for mothers.

I am privileged to be able to attend such events as an ‘Expert by Experience’ and I have every respect for those who have studied and practised in the area of perinatal mental health. I confess that I was extremely moved to hear from another ‘Expert by Experience’, Beth Bone, who was representing the incredible charity Pandas.

Beth spoke very movingly about the work that Pandas offer e.g. support groups. She also shared some of the story of her own postnatal illness and suicidal thoughts.  Beth and I have communicated by e-mail and Facebook although never met. I felt so humbled when she told the meeting that reading  my book was one of the things that ‘got her through’.  Beth showed a list of around 12 names of ladies who have all been reported this year alone to have taken their lives whilst suffering from postnatal depression.  As we were all together the inquest of the wife of an Army Major was also being held. I had read that report the night before and it had reduced me to tears. The description of sleep deprivation especially reminded me of how near I had been to taking my own life and my heart went out to her suffering and the consequent unnecessary loss to her child and family.

Beth gave us all the very real reminder of why we were there and why the research and practice around maternal mental health is so very important and needed. It was a privilege to meet you Beth.

The day concluded with the exciting news of the continuing growth of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.  This aims to focus on ‘Education, Awareness and Action’.

Plans were then discussed about the next International Meeting to be held in Swansea 10 – 13^th September 2014. See the website for details http://www.marcesociety.com/

I returned home feeling very encouraged by the work that is being done. Perhaps we can begin to see a glimmer of hope for the future of postnatal mental health?

Elaine 🙂