APP September 2026 Newsletter
Free APP webinar: book your place on ‘essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide’
On Wednesday 14th October, APP will be hosting the Alex Baish Memorial Webinar for frontline health professionals working with families in the perinatal period.
This free webinar is open to all health professionals, including GPs, midwives, antenatal educators, health visitors and ambulance and emergency department staff. It will outline the actions needed to support and protect women who develop postpartum psychosis.
APP experts, families with lived experience and clinicians will highlight the early signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis and discuss how frontline health professionals can work with perinatal mental health teams to help prevent maternal suicides.
This will be the fourth in the webinar series. Nearly 10,000 health professionals have watched our webinars in previous years. Of attendees, 92% rated the training as ‘excellent’, 8% rated it ‘good’ and 100% agreed they would change their practice as a result.
You can register for your free place here.
Please share the details with colleagues and encourage them to join this important session on preventing maternal suicide. You can download and print a copy of the webinar poster here, or please email us: app@app-network.org to request a copy of the poster free of charge.
Your voice matters: share your experience of APP’s peer support services
If you have used, or delivered, APP’s peer support services this year or at any time, please tell us what you think by completing our survey. The survey will close at the end of September.
The survey should take around 15 minutes to fill in. It is open to anyone who has used APP's peer support service (whether that is the online forum, café groups, one to one support via email, video/phone call or face-to-face, creative or wellbeing groups, or had any other contact with an APP lived experience volunteer or staff member). We would also like to hear from volunteers who have delivered peer support.
It doesn’t matter if you have completed the survey in previous years, we’d love to hear from you again. Please only complete this year’s survey once. Your responses will help us improve APP’s peer support and report to our funders on the importance of our work.
The survey can be completed anonymously and is confidential. Any comments you wish to add will remain anonymous, but might be used as quotes in our reports. Thank you!
You’ll find the survey here.
Upcoming peer support and community wellbeing sessions
We know that the tragic case in the USA is generating a huge amount of international news and social media coverage. Like us, you might have found the reporting incredibly shocking and upsetting.
If the coverage is affecting you, it’s okay to step away from social media, mute words or accounts and choose not to read the articles.
If you’ve experienced postpartum psychosis yourself or supported someone through it, our PP lived experience peer support community is here for you, whether you want to talk to others who understand how you feel or to think through ways you can help, whilst looking after yourself.
You can connect with others on our global HealthUnlocked forum, or get in touch with our peer support team if you’re in the UK. Find out more here.
We will be running some special wellbeing sessions for people who have experienced psychosis in the perinatal period and who live in the UK.
Join ‘Connections with Nature’ on Tuesday 29th September. Led by Tracey Robinson, an APP trustee who supports women’s mental health through nature connected coaching, the online workshop will give attendees the opportunity to learn nature based ways to manage your mood, stress and anxiety. Learn more and book your free place here.
The next UK online cafe group will be held on Thursday 8th October, and is open to anyone with lived experience in the UK. You can book your place here.
Help shape future research priorities
The James Lind Alliance (JLA) works to give patients, carers and healthcare professionals a say in what research should be done. They use Priority Setting Partnerships to determine the important questions on a particular topic.
The Perinatal Mental Health Priority Setting Partnership are seeking views from organisations, people with lived experience, and healthcare professionals in relation to the mental health of parents and their infants from preconception through pregnancy and up to two years postnatally.
It has launched a survey to help determine the research questions that people believe to be the most important priorities for future research.
We would love families with experience of PP and health professionals to have a voice. The outcomes can influence researchers and funders.
You can find out more and complete the survey (which closes on 9th October) here.
Eve Canavan announced as Action on Postpartum Psychosis charity ambassador
We are delighted to announce that maternal mental health advocate, campaigner and postpartum psychosis survivor, Eve Canavan BEM, is now an official ambassador for Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP).
Eve has been a passionate advocate for women and families affected by perinatal mental illness for more than a decade, drawing on her own experience of postpartum psychosis following the birth of her son. Eve co-founded the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership in 2014 and established Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week in 2017, receiving a British Empire Medal for her services to mental health. Eve is a trained peer supporter and has been a media volunteer with APP since 2013. Her experience of PP has shaped her lifelong commitment to improving awareness, understanding and support for maternal mental health.
You can read more about this story here.
APP Peer Support in the North West
APP’s newest NHS partnership project has been running for six months. Working with Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, we’re providing peer support at Seren Lodge Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Chester as well as a new PP café group in the community for mums living across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.
APP’s newest Peer Support Facilitator, Bobbie, said: "6 months have absolutely flown and I'm still absolutely loving it! There can be some tough days on the ward but it's so nice when you see a mum improve so much week to week. This painting is from one of my days at the ward. The mums and staff all joined in and it was lovely just chatting away. I think sometimes mums find it easier to talk when they don't have to make eye contact and there's a small distraction like painting.”
Feedback from patients and staff has been positive:
“When Bobbie from APP first came to visit, I wasn’t quite ready for visits from friends or family yet. But somehow, she felt like a friend from the moment she walked through the door. It was the company and support I didn’t realise I needed at that time. Having someone say they had been through what I was going through, and reassure me that those thoughts and feelings would pass, meant more than I can put into words. I will forever be grateful to APP for the support they provided, not just to me but also my husband and other family members that reached out.”
You can find out more about APP’s peer support partnerships with the NHS here.
Creative Exhibitions
Our group ‘APP Creative Connections’ meets regularly, sharing art works, poems and writing. Engaging in creative activity can be an important way of articulating feelings that are hard to express, or helping with ongoing wellbeing and relaxation after PP. Art and writing can also help explain the experience of PP to the public. We are delighted to share details of two exhibitions members of our community have been involved in.
A solo exhibition ‘Visceral Shadows’ by sculptor Emma Hunter at Bethlem Gallery (16th September - 5th December 2026) entangles two bodies of work created seven years apart, before and after giving birth.
Free, open 9.30am – 5pm, Wednesday – Saturday. The Bethlem Gallery is on the grounds of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, South London. Find out more here.
Ashley Simpkins exhibited some of her work as part of the exhibition ‘The Making of Mothers’ at The Garage Gallery, Walthamstow, London (17 - 20 September 2026). Some of Ashley’s art will also be included in the forthcoming @mentalwealthfestival exhibition ‘Tell Me More’, at @citylit Gallery from 3rd - 11th October 2026.
‘Tell Me More’ celebrates the power of art and creativity to express what words alone cannot. Bringing together works that explore mental and emotional health, identity and the human experience, the exhibition highlights how visual and material forms can communicate feeling, tell stories, make meaning and foster connection. Through painting, sculpture, print, textiles, photography, video, sound and other creative practices, ‘Tell Me More’ invites us to look more closely, listen more deeply, and discover new ways of understanding ourselves and one another. Find out more here.
If you are interested in joining our creativity sharing group (this is a group for our lived experience network), you can request to join the APP Facebook group or email app@app-network.org. You don’t have to consider yourself ‘creative’ to join! Our next meet up will be on National Poetry Day, Thursday 1st October, 7.30pm-9pm. You can book your place here.
Postpartum psychosis around the world
Niagara Falls shone purple earlier this month for maternal suicide awareness and prevention month.
The 15 minute light show was organised by US charity Cherished Mom as part of its ‘Is MOM OK?’ Maternal Suicide Awareness & Prevention Campaign.
Cherished Mom worked with the Niagara Falls Illumination Board to arrange the display on 10th September to remember mothers who have been lost, those who are struggling and the need to continue talking about maternal mental health
Cherished Mom’s founder Kristina Dulaney was at the illumination. You can read more from her here.
APP partners with Cherished Mom for Pregnancy and Postnatal Psychosis Awareness Day in May each year.
Influencing Mental Health Act Reform in New Zealand
As part of New Zealand’s Mental Health Act reform process, New Zealander, Kristy Maguire, who was separated from her newborn during psychiatric treatment for postpartum psychosis after the birth of her son in 2022, has campaigned for services that allow mothers and babies to remain together. Kristy made written and oral submissions calling for legislation and services that better reflect international best practice, including the provision of specialist MBUs. Drawing on her lived experience, as well as learning from APP, she highlighted the trauma that can result when mothers are admitted to general psychiatric wards and separated from their babies.
As a result, in July 2026, the Health Committee recommended the inclusion of a new principle stating that separation of mother and baby for psychiatric treatment may only happen where the responsible practitioner deems it in the best interest of the mother and baby. While New Zealand still has a long way to go to provide adequate MBU capacity nationwide, the change represents an important step towards more family-centred and compassionate care for mothers experiencing severe postpartum mental illness.
For more information, watch an interview with the NZ Health Minister here.
APP's health professional training
In-depth postpartum psychosis training is essential for all Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) and Perinatal Mental Health Team (PMHT) staff. In this one day session outlining best practice management of postpartum psychosis from identification to full recovery, you’ll hear from staff and volunteers with lived experience, academic experts and clinicians.
APP training is highly rated, with consistently excellent feedback, and 100% of attendees say they would recommend it to colleagues.
APP also offers 1-2 hour specialist lunchtime sessions for MBUs, on topics such as embedding peer supporters within the team, supporting partners, or working with diverse communities.
1 hour postpartum psychosis training is available for maternity staff, health visitors, GPs, A&E, ambulance staff and other professionals.
For more information, and prices, please contact training@app-network.org.
In the media
In At The Forefront, CEO of the Fore Mary Rose Gunn spoke with APP CEO Dr Jess Heron about how bringing together women with lived experience, researchers and clinicians changed the landscape of postpartum psychosis care in the UK. You can watch the full episode here or listen here.
APP CEO Dr Jess Heron joined BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to talk about postpartum psychosis, alongside debut novelist, Emily McBride who talked about her novel, Queen Mab, which features postpartum psychosis. Listen at 8’00 here.
APP Ambassador Laura Dockrill shared her PP experience in Vogue, ‘Three Weeks After Giving Birth, I Woke Up In A Psychiatric Ward. I Almost Didn’t Make It’.
‘Inside the NHS unit helping mothers with postpartum psychosis’. The Times spent a day at the UK's newest Mother and Baby Unit, Seren Lodge in Chester, which opened last December. The article highlights APP peer support, embedded within the unit. Thank you to APP peer supporters Rachel and Jocelyn for sharing their experiences and demonstrating the power of peer support in recovery (please note, this article is behind a paywall).
Read personal stories from the APP community, including Rachel's story, ‘When my midwife commented on how much I was doing, I realised there could be something wrong’ and this story, ‘Mental health is such a taboo subject in Africa – so finding peer support meant the world to me’.
Lucy shared her story in Edit, Superdrug’s in store magazine (pictured above), about how yoga played such an important role in her recovery from postpartum psychosis. Thank you so much Lucy for sharing your story and helping to raise awareness of PP and APP.
Did you know that APP works with journalists and content creators?
If you’re covering stories about postpartum psychosis, we’re here to help. APP can:
• Provide accurate, evidence-based information about postpartum psychosis
• Connect you with women and families who have lived experience (with consent and support)
• Offer expert comment from clinicians and researchers
• Support you to report sensitively and reduce stigma
Responsible reporting helps save lives and break the silence around this treatable medical emergency. Contact us: media@app-network.org.
Baby Brain at Camden Festival
Some of the APP team and volunteers went to see Baby Brain at Camden Festival, starring BAFTA-winning actress Kimberley Nixon.
Baby Brain is a play about motherhood, giving birth, postpartum psychosis and Mother and Baby Units. It stars BAFTA winner Kimberley Nixon (C4’s Fresh Meat, Wild Child), and has been touring the UK.
APP is promoted on stage after the end of each show, and there are APP leaflets and a banner. Kimberley Nixon has also been interviewed on Good Morning Britain and C4 News.
Comedian Paul Whitehouse was also there, and said in his review: ‘That was bloody brilliant’.
You can read about APP's support of the play here.
(Pictured above left to right, APP Ambassador Eve Canavan, APP’s Adeline McCann, Kimberley Nixon and APP’s Jessie Hunt).
Fabulous fundraisers
A massive well done to Kat, Kayleigh and their husbands Tom and Dave, who all represented APP in the Great North Run last weekend. Amazingly out of a crowd of 60,000 runners, Kayleigh and Kat managed to spot each other as they crossed the Tyne Bridge and they snapped a selfie (pictured). The two couples have raised nearly £4,000 between them! Thank you so much #TeamAPP!
Well done and thank you also to Lizzy and her family who took part in the Dundee Kiltwalk for APP last month, raising more than £1,000.
You may have thought that our Miles for Mums and Babies challenges are all over for the year, but in Northern Ireland Stephanie will be embarking on a 150 mile walking challenge next month - the distance from her home to their current nearest MBU. Good luck Stephanie!
We’re all sending lots of luck to our October runners - Bobbi in the Manchester Half (her second this year for APP!), Emily in the Cardiff Half and Sacha in the Oxford Half.
Emily says: ‘My mum suffered from postpartum psychosis after both my brother and I were born. Thankfully, she has fully recovered and now volunteers with APP and works to support other mothers within her NHS role. I am deeply moved by the work APP does. This personal connection fuels my passion to raise awareness about this incredible charity.’
Good luck Emily and all our runners!
If you’re in any of those areas and might be able to get along to cheer our APP runners on in person, let us know: fundraising@app-network.org.
DOUBLE DONATION DATE FOR YOUR DIARY!
APP has been selected to be part of the Big Give Women & Girls Challenge next month.
From 12 noon on 6th October, to 12 noon on 13th October, all donations made via our Big Give donation page will be DOUBLED at no additional cost to you. So if you’ve been thinking about making a donation, if you have some spare change ready to pay in, or if you’re wondering about holding an event to mark World Mental Health Day on the 10th October - this is the perfect opportunity to make a donation and get it match funded.
You donate £10, APP will receive £20 - double the donation, double the impact!
Keep up with Chris’s football tour!
Dad of two Chris is continuing his football and MBU tour of the UK - season four this year. He’s already been to two matches - Charlton Athletic and Leeds United - and had two home wins! Read more about what he’s been up to here, or follow his journey on Instagram @wasley_postpartumpsychosis.
Dates for your diary
Black Maternal Mental Health Week, Monday 21st - Sunday 27th September
APP UK-wide virtual Wellbeing Workshop: Connections with Nature, Tuesday 29th September. Reserve your place here.
APP virtual peer support group - mental health difficulties after postpartum psychosis, Wednesday 30th September
APP neurodivergent peer support virtual café group meet up, Monday 5th October
APP UK-wide virtual café group meet up, Thursday 8th October
APP Yorkshire face to face café group meet up in Leeds, Saturday 10th October
World Mental Health Day, Saturday 10th October
APP North West virtual café group meet up, Monday 12th October
APP webinar 2026: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide, Wednesday 14th October. Book here.
APP Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales face to face café group meet up in Chester, Thursday 15th October
APP Birmingham face to face café group meet up, Friday 16th October
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 21st October
Contact information for all APP café groups is available here.
Conferences and events
MBRRACE-UK virtual conference, Thursday 8th October
One-day event for any health professionals involved in the delivery of maternity and neonatal care, as well as interested members of the public: Presenting the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Reports 2026. More information and sign up online here.
APP webinar 2026: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide, Wednesday 14th October
Free webinar for health professionals working with families in the perinatal period. APP experts, families with lived experience and clinicians will highlight the early signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis and discuss how frontline health professionals can work with perinatal mental health teams to help prevent maternal suicides.
Register to attend here.
National Suicide Prevention Alliance annual conference, Wednesday 21st October
In person event in London. This year’s theme is “Stronger Together: Shaping the Future of Suicide Prevention.” The conference brings together people with lived experience, practitioners, researchers, policymakers and system leaders. More information and booking here.
Recognising and responding to Maternal Deterioration, Thursday 10th December
Online conference supporting maternity services to improve the recognition, escalation and response to maternal deterioration. A 20% discount is available for members of the APP network with code hcuk20app. More details and booking here.
If you would like to advertise your event here, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.