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Perinatal mental health problems cost UK £8.1 billion per year according to a report published this week by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.   As a result of the launch of this important report I have had a busy few days.

I am honoured that the team at the MMHA ask me to represent them and those affected by these conditions, with the media. Last week I was going to be filmed for BBC Breakfast, until they found ladies close together in Macclesfield who are part of The Smile Group  there.  Here is the report. They did a great job.

On Monday I was filmed by ITN for the ITV news lunchtime bulletin. This also included Alain Gregoire, a perinatal psychiatrist who is a lead figure of the MMHA. We were all geared up for it to air when at the last minute we were replaced by news of a fire! The reporter was determined that the feature would be used so it is available on-line here.

Each time I am on the media I always hope that it will increase awareness and encourage someone to reach out for help. As a result of these features I am delighted to say that has happened. Thank you to the media!

On Tuesday I was delighted to be invited to the launch of the report, to be held in the Members Dining Room at The Houses of Parliament. This is the second time I have been there so it felt familiar this time! This is my blog from that event. Nevertheless I still was excited and honoured to be there again. It feels so special to be in a place that represents years of our history and to walk and sit in places where our Kings, Queens and politicians have been.

At the launch were representatives from many of the organisations that make up the MMHA. It was wonderful to meet many people whom I have got to know in the years I have been doing this. We also had a range of people whom we want to be able to take the recommendations of this report forward, such as MPs, commissioners and members of the House of Lords at the event. There were a few of us there as people with lived experience of perinatal mental illness. We wore badges that read ‘Ask me about my experiences’. The idea was to mingle and put some human stories behind the statistics of the report. Here I am with Lucie, Beth and Eve.

In between drinks and some neatly cut sandwiches, I did mingle. I used some of the networking tips that Will Kintish  taught me many years ago. The best one is to say hello to someone on their own. The food tables were ideal for this!

It almost felt rude to cut short conversations with people I knew, yet we were aware of the need to influence. I had a lovely conversation with a Baroness, who said she was interested in the area. I spoke to the Director of Improving Health and Wellbeing UK.  We discussed the stigma around mental health and the problems faced by some families where the mother does not fully recover from perinatal mental illness. It was also a great opportunity to chat to people who said they have heard me speak over the years and renew acquaintances.

We heard short talks from Alain, politicians, one of the team who had compiled the report and a moving one from Emily Slater, one of the team at MMHA.

I did speak to some of the NHS England team who explained their challenge in providing funds for all of the many conditions that people campaign for. There is only a certain amount of funding to go round. Of course those of us in the room were passionate about getting better services for perinatal mental health. I appreciate that there are families out there affected by physical illnesses who also recognise the need for better services. We all naturally are concerned with issues that are personal to us.

The HUGE message of this report is about prevention. Even though the figures are an under-estimate, as it did not take into account all conditions or the long term effects, it still points to the fact that the cost to the public sector of perinatal mental health problems is 5 times the cost of improving services (£280 million instead of £1.2 billion). This surely is a case for investment that cannot and should not be ignored?

So how can we get beyond the figures and rhetoric into making this action?

We do appear to have cross-party support for this. We have 6 months to the General Election. NOW is the time to highlight this report to your local MP. Keep plugging the figures where you can. Write, meet and speak to your MP. Make that contact today!

You will find all the information of the report at http://everyonesbusiness.org.uk/?p=742

I always feel a huge sense of sympathy when I am with people who have been deeply affected by the unnecessary death of a loved one due to a perinatal mental health suicide. This is even more painful when clearly the correct services and treatment are more than likely to have kept that lady alive. Being with such people makes me feel so grateful that I did not join the maternal death statistics the night I ‘cracked’ and went walking the streets in my nightdress. I still know that had local geography been different, I could have been in pieces on a motorway or on a railway line – instead I found a church doorstep.

I have all the joy of motherhood. I get a lump in my throat just thinking of how my son and family would have been affected. There are many physical conditions that are difficult to prevent. Perinatal mental health conditions can so easily be minimised. So PLEASE let’s do what we can to make this happen.

Thank you to MMHA for the invitation and I look forward to other great achievements in the future. This is the biggest step I have witnessed so far in my journey to make early parenthhood better for others. We have a long way to go – we have started though. I feel very proud to be involved.

Yesterday I spoke to 150 health visitors at a conference. The room was full of hardworking, dedicated people who want to make a difference. I encourage and applaud their desire for more training and managing their young families on services that could be so much more, given the investment. We know how to help these parents and young children. We have some amazing people within the NHS and in the Third Sector who want to help.

This report has made me reflect on the ‘cost’ of my postnatal illness:-

Me – suffering the illness; loss of ‘me’ for a while; damage to my career; loss of earnings

My son – separated from me when I was hospitalised; ‘robbed’ of breastfeeding

My husband at the time faced many challenges.  We divorced as a result of effects of my illness.

My teaching role – large cost to Educational Services for funding my supply replacement and associated challenges.

NHS – medication; two months inpatient psychiatric care; occupational therapy; electro convulsive therapy (ECT); support group; GP and health visitor additional support; community psychiatric nurse.

Social Services – Child Protection case; family support service.

Family and friends – emotional support.

This was on top of my additional maternity needs for two antenatal infections that needed care in hospital; a complicated delivery that then required surgery for me followed by more surgery 6 weeks later.

A leading perinatal psychiatrist said that she felt if I had been referred to a specialist early on in my start to motherhood, I need not have become so ill.  I am grateful to have recovered so I do not moan about this. I simply strive to make it better for others.

The biggest financial impact for me has been giving up nine years now of a full-time teaching salary. I made this choice following the publication of my story  ‘Eyes without Sparkle – a journey through postnatal illness’.  I was asked to give talks and I could not do this as a full-time teacher. I made that choice and have sacrificed about £300,000, so far! Wow – I didn’t realise that until now. In those years I have ‘got by’ thanks to others, especially my parents, and currently am only able to do what I do because of my part time role as Executive PA for a Leadership training company.  I am grateful for the flexibility they enable me to have to attend events like the ones this week too.

The experiences I have had though are priceless. I am so appreciative of the support of many people that has enabled me to keep on speaking, writing and creating awareness.

Now it’s back to writing my next book ….

So please get in touch with your MP, your local media and anyone who can help us to fund these much needed services!

Best wishes

Elaine

P.S.    I wish in no way to dilute the significance of this blog. I would like to share a fun moment though.  As I stood looking at the departure boards at Euston station after leaving the Houses of Parliament, I found myself standing next to one of the current X-factor contestants, Italian singer Andreas Faustini. He was charming. He told me he was on his way to Manchester to be on BBC Breakfast.