Action on Postpartum Psychosis is the national charity for women and families affected by postpartum psychosis (PP). PP is a severe mental illness that begins suddenly following childbirth. Symptoms include hallucinations and delusions, often with mania, depression or confusion. More than 1400 women experience PP each year in the UK (1 to 2 in every 1,000 mothers). An episode of PP can be very frightening for women and their families. Most women go on to make a full recovery, however the journey can be long and difficult.
Award-winning peer support
APP runs an award-winning peer support service, connecting women and families throughout the UK to recovered volunteers, via: an online peer support forum; one to one email support; meeting a volunteer programme (video and in person); social groups and creative workshops.
Our peer support network helps women and families affected by postpartum psychosis feel understood, supported and less isolated. With the support of world-leading academic and clinical experts, an amazing, supportive, peer-led, lived experience community has been developed. The peer support community has been described as “life changing”, “lifting me from the shadows of a life half-lived” and a “good and precious resource to all who have been affected by PP”.
Our evaluation shows that the service saves lives and improves recovery outcomes. It is the only PP support network in the UK, and the largest in the world.
Patient information
We develop patient information for women who have experienced PP and their families, co-produced by women, families, specialist clinicians and leading academic experts. We offer signposting to appropriate resources, offer specialist advice through our panel of experts and a free second-opinion psychiatry service through the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH).
Our workshops, conferences and arts events enable women to articulate their experience of PP and develop information to help other women and families.
Training
We offer training in postpartum psychosis, co-produced and co-delivered by academics, clinicians, and women and families with lived experience.
Groundbreaking research
We facilitate ground-breaking research into the causes of PP, treatments and what helps families to recover. We work with members to identify the most important areas of research for them and we report research results back.
Greater public awareness of postpartum psychosis
We promote greater public awareness of PP in the general public, work to address stigma and misinformation, and campaign for improved perinatal mental health services.
Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) is a registered charity. We are a collaborative project run by women who have experienced PP, specialist health professionals and academic experts from Birmingham and Cardiff Universities.
For information about how to support us, please click here.