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I had an exhibition table at the 5th annual iHV Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PIMH) conference  on Monday 19^th June. It followed Infant Mental Health Awareness Week  and was on International Fathers’ Mental Health Day 2023.

Here is an outline of the day with links that I hope you find useful.

Books exhibition table

It was wonderful to be able to meet some long-standing connections and make some new ones in a face-to-face setting. The venue, King’s House Conference Centre,  was excellent and the efficient events team at iHV  had done a great job of setting all the exhibition tables around the main event area. This meant that we were all in the same room.

A fellow Maternal Mental Health Alliance Champion, Leanne

I was the ‘reserve’ speaker and as is often the case, if a Plan B is put in place, it is not required! All of those on the programme were able to attend in person or virtually.

The theme of the day was ‘Coming together: Belong, Be Curious; Believe’. There was also the welcome and encouragement by Melita Walker, Head of Mental Health at the Institute of Health Visiting, of suggesting that we should work as busy bees!

Reconnecting with Gill Martin

Here are the topics and people from whom we heard:

1. Keynote Session 1| Inequalities in PIMH

• Dr Andrew Cairns: Trauma and adversity – messages from Maternal Deaths 
• Professor Dawn Edge: ‘We don’t see Black women’: Ethnic inequalities in perinatal mental health and care
• Dr Louise Dalton & Dr Elizabeth Rapa: An important focus: The mental health of young parents and their babies. Take a look at The Brain Story – a knowledge platform to explain how experiences change the way our brains are built, and the impact on long term physical and mental health.
• Kieran Anders & Mike Sandiford from Dads Matter: Gender Equality: Transforming the role of fathers in the perinatal period

2. Keynote Session 2 | Early Mental Health

• Marie Balment: Meeting the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health educational needs of professionals working in universal services across Scotland 
• Dr Karen Bateson: Measuring outcomes in parent and infant relationship work
• Sally Hogg: Understanding and supporting the mental health of babies and young children – a toolkit to support local action
• Rose Palmer, Thandiwe Khumalo & Nicki Dawson: Voices of the Future

3. Keynote Session 3 | Perinatal and Infant Mental Health: The Global Family

In Conversation with the World Association of Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) and the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health (MARCE)

• Professor Jane Barlow: The mother’s relationship with the unborn baby and its impact on the infant’s mental health: what we have learned over the past fifty years
• Professor Vivette Glover: Perinatal Mental Health and its effects on the child: Changes in understanding over the last 43 years – since founding of the Marce Society (1980)

4. Keynote Session 4 I Developing Inclusive Practice

• Jacob Stokoe: Transcending Gendered Language: The impact of language on the mental health of trans parents
• Dr Zoe Darwin: Mothers and others – expanding our thinking about parental mental health

The day concluded with a ‘Dad dancing’ session as part of International Fathers’ Mental Health Day Celebration  lead by Kieran Anders

With Kieran Anders

The conference was sponsored by Dadpad – ‘the essential guide for new dads, developed with the NHS.’

I shared my table with a talented artist called Amy Dignam who also is a doula,  amongst other roles. Her website is called Viva Birth.

Other exhibitors were Barnardos and Digital Health Transformation Service 

It was a very informative, well-organised and well-attended event. It was so encouraging to see how passionate the health visitors are about making a positive difference with young families.

This has also been recognised by the Duchess of Cambridge, as shown in this recent video.

I appreciate being part of a very successful day – it really was an opportunity for ‘Coming together: Belong, Be Curious; Believe’.

On 4th July I will be back at the same venue and giving my new keynote presentation on ‘Lifelong implications of the Perinatal Period’ at the Northern Maternity and Midwifery Festival. 

Perhaps I will see you there…I would love to!

Elaine 🙂