This week is Maternal Mental Health Week and Combined Healthcare has marked the week in a number of ways.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Parent and Baby Unit team, Lotus team and Talking Therapies team from Combined Healthcare along with the Perinatal Mental Health team from University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) came together to run a stall on the maternity unit at the Royal Stoke Hospital.
The teams provided information about the Parent and Baby Unit and the Lotus service and gave advice, signposted to relevant support services and gave away freebies and baked goods.
Kell Weller and Nic Rushton, peer support workers at the Parent and Baby Unit, hosted a special session of their weekly peer support group on the theme of maternal mental health. In this session, the mums got creative by using an item of their baby’s clothing to create a scrunchie. The group saw these as a poignant keepsake and discussed how they could use it to fidget with if they were anxious or stressed.
One mother used the baby grow her daughter had worn on the day she took her home from the hospital. For both the mums and the team, this session was a good opportunity to come together and support each other, while making something special to keep forever.
A consultant clinical psychologist and specialist psychological therapist who work for the Parent and Baby Unit also facilitated a learning slot for health visitors on intrusive thoughts as part of the week to provide information for those who support parents with their mental health.
All the activities and events across the week helped to promote this year’s theme of ‘Your voice, your strength’ and highlighted the support that is available across the area for anyone struggling with maternal mental health issues.
Kelly Weller, Peer Support Worker with the Parent and Baby Unit, is pleased with the success of the week:
“It’s been an incredible week with a mixture of fun, creativity and reflection. We’re determined to break down the barriers & misconceptions about Maternal Mental Health, so it’s been the perfect opportunity to come together with lots of other professional to raise awareness and offer reassurance that it’s ok not to be ok and encourage people to reach out for support.”
Combined Healthcare also highlighted this important awareness week by sharing a relevant patient story at its Trust Board on Thursday 8 May. In the video, Amy discusses her experience with the Parent and Baby Service at Combined Healthcare during her third pregnancy, after experiences with postpartum psychosis following previous pregnancies.
During the discussion, Ben Richards, Chief Operating Officer, acknowledged that a significant investment has been made into the Parent and Baby Unit in recent years and asked if the change had been noticeable for Amy who has accessed the service over a long period of time. Amy agreed that the changes had been evident to her as a mother accessing the service. As part of this, staff from the Parent and Baby Unit are now able to visit parents in their home and provide community support which makes engagement easier for families. Due to the funding, there is now significantly more provision for fathers as well as the existing ways the team supports mothers.
The video is available here, which includes the discussion held between Amy and the board.
To find out more about the Parent and Baby Unit, click here.
