Following analysis from LSE and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, we chatted with being pregnant and postpartum psychotherapist, Sophie Harris, to study extra concerning the help obtainable for brand new and expectant mums
Research carried out final 12 months by the London School of Economics and Political Science, commissioned by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, revealed the devastating impression that perinatal psychological well being issues have on ladies and their households when not successfully handled. What’s extra, the previous 2014 report calculated that perinatal psychological sickness prices the UK £8.1 billion yearly.
Since 2014, the UK has invested in specialist providers supplied by the NHS to remodel the lives of expectant ladies with complicated psychological well being issues and their infants. As welcome as these findings could also be, extra motion is now required to see that ladies and their households obtain the standard of care that they want
Whilst enhancements have been made, entry to perinatal psychological well being providers remains to be a problem. The report highlights the lengthy ready lists for psychological well being providers, together with these supplied via the NHS Talking Therapies programme (beforehand referred to as ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ or IAPT). Not solely this, however lots of the providers are unable to fulfill being pregnant and parenting-specific wants. This means some ladies don’t settle for referrals, miss appointments or are dissatisfied with their therapy.
With extra maternal psychological well being issues being recognized because of the pandemic, now has by no means been a extra essential time to make sure providers can reply to rising calls for and are match for goal.
The outcomes from the LSE report suggest a greater integration of perinatal well being providers, similar to maternity and well being visiting, with main psychological well being providers. The collaborative efforts will assist deal with maternal wellbeing and help the early developmental wants of youngsters. This, coupled with figuring out ladies in want and facilitating entry to therapy, could have a clinically cost-effective function in society.
We chatted to being pregnant and postpartum cognitive behavioural therapist, Sophie Harris to seek out out extra.
Do you discover the findings from the 2014 report stunning?
“Absolutely not,” Sophie says. “Not only are the impacts of maternal mental health difficulties felt by the mother, but also of their child, and potentially even their children. At the moment, there are a lot of unsupported mothers who are struggling. Unfortunately, our children feel our stress. Untreated mental health conditions will have a huge social, emotional and financial impact both on the needs of the mother and child and wider society.”
Do you welcome this analysis?
“Yes. I believe that any research that highlights the need for maternal mental health support is positive. However, it requires significant action for the impact of these findings to be shown in the outcomes of care for our mothers who are struggling.
“There appears to be a large-scale underestimation of the mental health needs of new mums. For example, the NHS website states that one in 10 women will experience postnatal depression in the first year after a child is born. I would argue that this is hugely underestimated, particularly due to the long-term lack of support and lack of “the village” that new mums so desperately want.
“The restrictions caused by the pandemic have only further exacerbated these problems. I believe that the underestimation of maternal mental health needs can often mean that mothers who are experiencing psychological problems feel like a ‘failure’ or ‘guilty for not enjoying motherhood’ when, in fact, experiencing these difficulties is a completely natural response to going through the huge adjustment in life.”
How essential is early identification of maternal psychological well being issues?
The report highlights that we have now not but addressed therapy choices for the extra widespread psychological well being issues. It is these extra widespread issues which, if left untreated, can escalate. Therefore, it will be significant that well being professionals, similar to midwives and well being guests can determine points early on. The findings present that the problem right here lies within the lack of assets and understaffed providers, which means that early intervention will not be all the time doable.
Sophie says that “the identification of mental health difficulties should be as important as identifying physical needs of new and expecting mothers during this time.
“The separation of the mother’s mental and physical health needs is unhelpful, as both are closely linked. Stress, anxiety and low mood contribute towards physical health conditions throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Similarly, physical health conditions can contribute to poor mental health. General medicine often tries to separate physical and mental health, although it would be difficult to successfully treat one of these areas without considering the other.
“I believe that midwives, health visitors etc. could be well placed to provide low-intensity mental health support for new mums. However, this would benefit from a wider understanding of physical and mental health, which would require additional training throughout the different professions, including doctors and those in other medical roles.”
Sophie goes on to say that “another significant challenge is the time limitations and high caseloads placed on birthing professionals. It would be difficult to provide meaningful care, for a mother to feel supported and validated, in the current climate of the over-stretched healthcare service. I think that if we were to normalise having emotional difficulties through pregnancy and postpartum, new parents would feel less stigmatised or guilty for struggling.
“The large majority of new mums I know, both professionally and personally, have experienced some level of emotional distress after having a baby. Yet, this distress remains generally unrecognised. I believe that universal campaigns could help new mums to recognise that they are not alone, and that difficult times are completely expected after having a baby.”
Do you agree with the suggestions within the report?
“Yes, within the context of a wider understanding of the strong links between physical and mental health. I agree that increased interventions for new mums who are experiencing mental health difficulties would be beneficial. However, I would argue that these interventions would need to be specific to the needs of new mums.
“For example, I have spoken to women who experienced traumatic births with devastating impacts, and they have been offered group support for ‘managing anxiety’. This kind of intervention would be completely irrelevant for a mother who has experienced birth trauma. Incidents such as this increase a mother’s feelings of helplessness, and not being understood when they have been prescribed an unhelpful treatment. For maternal mental health interventions to be prescribed effectively, there would need to be thorough training to increase understanding of professionals and the wider system.”
“Additionally, more general support could be of benefit. So rather than a treatment for a specific mental health condition, like postnatal depression, mothers could benefit from learning emotional skills that are required as a mum that we may not need to have learnt before. For example, managing feelings of over-stimulation and overwhelm. We do not need to be experiencing a diagnosed mental health difficulty to greatly benefit from this form of awareness and intervention.
“Also, the findings of this report, and specifically the treatment of mental health conditions, would need to be in the context of wider societal change. Many new mums are feeling lonely, disconnected and under-supported. It would be difficult to treat a mental health condition which results from this without addressing these wider issues. For example, low maternity pay and high childcare costs all greatly contribute to the mental health needs of mothers, particularly in the current economic climate.”
Where else can individuals discover help?
“There are various support networks in place for those still awaiting treatment. Private counselling or therapy is available through services such as the Counselling Directory. Use keywords such as ‘pregnancy/postpartum/perinatal’ to search”
Other assets embrace:
You can discover Sophie on Counselling Directory and through her web site, Looking After Mum. Sophie additionally presents free psychological well being help for brand new mums over on YouTube and her Instagram @lookingaftermum.
Read the complete report from LSE and MMHA right here.