The Patient Information Forum and NCT– health information for maternal mental health

This blog was originally published on the Patient Information Forum’s blog on 13th November 2018

A drawing of what happens to the brain during pregnancy, and what may help.

Good health information comes in all shapes and sizes. One of the best pieces of health information I’ve ever received was a diagram drawn on a scrap of paper. I was about six months pregnant with my second child and my psychologist was talking me through what was happening to my brain while I was feeling anxious, as well as explaining hormone and brain changes during pregnancy.

At the point we drew the diagram, my anxiety levels had reached new heights – I had a constant sense of impending doom. I was having nightmares, sleepless nights and terrifying daydreams about something bad happening to me, my son or my unborn baby.

Lack of information for new parents

Despite this, I can be considered one of the ‘luckier’ women in that I did receive good information about maternal mental health. This isn’t the case for a lot of women, particularly those who live in my London Borough of Haringey.

I recently attended an event run by the charity NCT to publicise their #HiddenHalf campaign and the findings of a survey they undertook into maternal mental health in my area. Shockingly, no women in the survey said they were given good information about perinatal mental health problems in pregnancy from midwives. [i]

Not just post-natal depression

Like a lot of people, before I had children I’d heard a bit about post-natal depression, but I was quite clueless about perinatal mental health. In fact, there are a range of other conditions that can affect women during pregnancy and/or post-natally, including anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and postpartum psychosis.[ii]

In a bigger national survey, the NCT spoke to a 1,000 women who had recently had a baby and found that half had experienced a mental health or emotional problem post-natally or during pregnancy.

Understanding that these problems are common and that they can be addressed is “an important first step in enabling women to get the help they need as quickly as possible.”[i] Having information about perinatal mental health can equip mums and their partners to be honest about difficult emotions.

It’s OK not to be OK

There can be pressure on pregnant women and parents to be happy, when, in reality, the early days with a new baby and beyond are often a struggle. At the #HiddenHalf event, Sally Hogg from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance spoke about promoting that: “It’s OK not to be OK.” This struck a chord with me. At my first ever appointment with my midwife, she asked me about my mental health history and how I was feeling, which gave me permission to open up. The information I received from my psychologist helped me understand the anxiety and to normalise my feelings.

Getting the support you need

As well as timely information during and after both my pregnancies, access to CBT and mindfulness meditation made things easier for me. Getting peer support can also be important. The #HiddenHalf event was refreshing, because I could share my experiences with other mums. But, again, not everyone gets this. The NCT found that only half the women they surveyed got access to the help they needed. You can join their call for better six week post-natal check-ups so that all new mothers with a mental health problem can access the treatment available.

Things can get better

A seemingly simple diagram on a tatty piece of paper went a long way towards me feeling happier during my pregnancy. A year and half or so later and my companion at the event was my lovely daughter, now aged 1 and helpfully ‘taking notes.’ So, things can be tough but, with the right health information, access to services, and support, things can get better.

[i] HiddenHalf in Haringey. A Report on Women’s Experiences of Postnatal Mental Health Services. November 2018. NCT Haringey

[ii] https://www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/NCT%20The%20Hidden%20Half_0.pdf

My daughter, aged 1 ‘taking notes’ at the meeting!