Maternal mental health matters

Today is the first World Maternal Mental Health Day
organised by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. One in five mothers experience depression or
anxiety during pregnancy, birth and the early months of their child’s life, but women don’t have to suffer in
silence.

Advice and support is available in Bristol, through Mothers for Mothers and Bluebell Care.

The Bristol Health Partners Improving Perinatal Mental Health Health Integration Team (IMPROVE HIT) is a team of mental health practitioners, women and children’s health practitioners, commissioners and academics, working together to improve the identification of, services and support for parents with mental health issues before and after the birth of their child.

Improving the mental health of mothers and fathers during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year is a health priority, not only because it’s important for parents but it’s crucial for the health and wellbeing of the next generation. Despite being the focus of a NICE guideline and many reports, progress to improve the mental health and wider emotional well-being of parents remains limited. IMPROVE HIT aims to change this by bringing together all the organisations involved in the provision of services to expectant and new parents.

In this video, Ruth Jackson, founder of Bluebell Care, talks about her own experience of post-natal depression.

Perinatal Positivity – Ruth from bluebell from ForMed Films on Vimeo.