If postpartum psychosis (PP) was included as a formal diagnosis in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), resulting in more awareness and consistency in approaches to treatment, I believe I could have got the help I desperately needed much sooner.
There are so many different mental health conditions in the DSM, and it makes me wonder if the barrier to PP being included is because it’s not as common as some other illnesses. But just because it’s not as common doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And given that it is one of the most serious perinatal mental health conditions, I’d argue that we need as much awareness and clarity as possible.
It was 2024 when I experienced PP – although at first I was told it was anxiety and lack of sleep. Not everyone who experiences PP has enough insight during the illness to be able to identify what is and isn’t a hallucination, but I was lucky in that I knew I was seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. But even with me directly informing the doctors and midwives of this, they assured me I wasn’t really hallucinating, I was just exhausted, experiencing anxiety and I needed to rest. I also had other doctors acknowledging the hallucinations but telling me that it was quite normal postpartum.
But hallucinations aren’t normal postpartum. They are, however, a core symptom of PP. I just don’t think they had the knowledge or awareness of it to diagnose me.
Hallucinations weren’t the only symptom I was displaying, of course. There were delusions, confusion and strange thinking, too. I remember waking up in hospital after giving birth and asking the staff whose baby this was. And when I went home, I accused my husband of stealing my baby. Again, I was told I was just tired.
During all of this, I was prescribed sertraline for my ‘anxiety’ and I became suicidal. After several weeks struggling at home and being reassured by doctors that everything was normal, my husband called me an ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. It was only then that I was finally diagnosed with PP. But if I had been diagnosed sooner, all those times when I talked of hallucinations and exhibited delusional thinking, I might never have reached that critical, suicidal state.
That’s why I believe PP should be included in the DSM, and it should be included in midwife training, too. The symptoms I was displaying and informing the health professionals of were all classic symptoms of psychosis. But if it’s not formally recognised, it’s more likely that these signs will be missed, which makes misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment also more likely – which can be incredibly risky.
Nobody should reach the critical state that I did – or worse - before they are diagnosed. A formal diagnosis could raise awareness, improve training and, ultimately, save lives.
The APP team would like to wish you a very happy Mother’s Day for Sunday.
It’s not too late to support APP when buying your Mother's Day cards at Making A Difference Cards. You can send e-cards, personalise with photos, names and even games! Browse a huge selection and buy here. Every card purchased gives a donation to APP.
We know Mother’s Day can be difficult, especially for anyone in a Mother and Baby Unit and their loved ones. It’s not always easy to remember, but mums get better from postpartum psychosis - read our Ambassador, Laura Dockrill’s story of her first Mother’s Day in hospital, and her recovery here.
For anyone who finds the day difficult or are remembering mums who are no longer with us, our trained peers are here to support you. APP’s volunteers are on the forum every day of the year, or you can request email or video call support here.
We are recruiting: Head of Information Technology and Digital Transformation
We’re looking for an experienced IT and Digital Transformation Lead with a track record in digital project management, of implementing IT and CRM systems, and of developing digital transformation strategies.
This is a new, senior-level position. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing an information technology and digital transformation strategy that improves APP’s operational efficiency.
The successful candidate will be a professional who can think strategically about the future while being hands-on with systems and IT infrastructure. An understanding of CRM systems, data security, regulatory compliance, and cloud-based workspaces especially for UK charities, is vital. The role offers the opportunity to make a significant difference in a well-regarded national charity during a period of growth.
For more information, see our website. The deadline for applications is Sunday 22nd March.
Mothers for Mothers report launched
APP’s Chief Executive, Dr Jess Heron, attended the launch of the Mothers for Mothers report in Parliament in February.
‘This Is Our Truth: A Grassroots Call to Reimagine Perinatal Mental Health Care’ highlights the gaps in specialist support experienced by tens of thousands of people living with perinatal mental illness each year - and calls for better funding of voluntary sector organisations delivering ‘on the ground’ life-saving support.
800 individuals as well as 56 voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations - including APP - contributed to the report, which was delivered to Downing Street by Mothers for Mothers CEO Maria Viner (pictured above). You can read the full report here.
Spring North awards
We’re delighted that APP has been shortlisted in the Impact category of the Spring North VCFSE awards for our team’s work supporting mums and families affected by PP and severe postnatal mental illnesses across Lancashire and South Cumbria, including Ribblemere Mother & Baby Unit. Huge congratulations to our team for all their hard work. The overall winners will be announced at a ceremony in June.
Find out more about how APP works with NHS Trusts here. You can read more about the Spring North awards here.
Launch of RCPsych’s position statement on menopause and mental health
Earlier this month, The Royal College of Psychiatrists launched its first ever position statement on menopause and mental health. The statement highlights concerns about stigma that stops women accessing support, poor understanding among employers, research knowledge gaps, and a lack of education among healthcare professionals.
Women who have had PP and/or bipolar disorder may be at higher risk of depression, anxiety, mania and (more rarely) psychosis during perimenopause and menopause. We know much more awareness and research is needed in this important area. APP welcomes the RCPsych’s position statement, which emphasises the need for improvements to the policies, education, care and support.
You can read more details about the position statement here. There’s more information about postpartum psychosis and the menopause on our website.
APP is working with a number of research teams to develop evidence in this area. Look out for our menopause cafe group coming up on Wednesday 29th April 12.30-1.30pm, led by Dr Clare Dolman, where we’ll discuss what is known about menopause management and key questions and issues for our community - so we can work on up to date advice for our website.
National maternity and neonatal investigation - please share your experiences!
A national call for evidence to help shape the future of maternity and neonatal care in England is open until 17th March 2026. Your voice matters. And right now, it can help shape the future of maternity and neonatal care in England.
Baroness Amos has launched a national Call for Evidence, inviting women, families and support networks to share their real experiences of maternity and neonatal services.
Why is this so important? Policies, standards, and improvements are strongest when they listen to lived experience. Personal accounts reveal where care and support works, where it falls short, and where change is urgently needed. Whether your experience was positive, challenging, or somewhere in between, we’d like postpartum psychosis experiences to be represented in the data.
This Call for Evidence is now open until 17th March 2026, and there are two surveys:
- One for women and people who have been pregnant to share their own experiences of maternity and neonatal care.
- One for partners, fathers, family members, friends, or others who supported someone through pregnancy and birth.
APP will be submitting an organisational response outlining the importance of access to Mother and Baby Unit care, better PP education for health professionals, access to specialist PP peer support, addressing inequalities, and the importance of national strategic oversight of perinatal mental health care. This is a real opportunity to be heard and help shape better and safer care and support for future families.
Please take part in a study to help our understanding of perinatal mental health
APP is supporting the Mothers and Mental Health (MaM) study with the National Centre for Mental Health. We are trying to understand more about the causes and triggers of severe mental illness during pregnancy and following childbirth.
The study is open to anyone over 18 who has given birth. It will not only help us understand more about severe mental illness in the postpartum period but also help us test our postpartum psychosis research assessment tool. We need more people to get involved, even if they have never experienced a postpartum mental illness, in order to make sure it is accurate and precise.
Already taken part in this study? We'd love to hear from you! Health and Care Research Wales (who are funding the study) would like to put together a blog post to help encourage others to take part. If you have participated in the survey and might be happy to share your experience of this, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.
Miles for Mums and Babies 2026
Miles for Mums and Babies is back for 2026 and we need you to join us for what we hope will be our biggest year of challenges ever! Help us raise vital funds so we can be there for even more mums and families who need us.
With Miles for Mums and Babies, it's entirely up to you what challenge you take on - you choose how and when you want to complete your miles, how many you want to do.
Lots of people choose a number that means something to them - so if they or a family member have been affected by PP, then they might choose the number of miles they had to travel to an MBU or how many days they were treated for - or you can pick another number - whatever you want.
Then you complete the miles however you want - in the past people have run, walked, swum, cycled, toddled, rollerskated and paddleboarded - or a mix! And you can do it all in one day, or over a week, a month or longer. Get together with friends, family or work colleagues too and make it a team challenge if you like - work together to complete the miles!
There are lots of ideas of challenges other people have taken on on our Miles for Mums news page from last year and the year before if you want to have a look.
Alternatively if you'd rather take on an organised challenge - check out our challenge pages here.
Complete our Miles for Mums & Babies registration form and Fliss will be in touch with more info and inspiration if you need it.
The Big Bake
With Maternal Mental Health Week coming up in May, it could be the perfect opportunity to get friends, family, or colleagues together for an awareness raising Big Bake for APP!
Plan an afternoon tea, a workplace bake sale, themed cake decorating competition or a picnic in the park and help raise funds and awareness for APP at the same time.
Get your FREE Big Bake pack (including some of the APP team's favourite recipes!) by emailing fundraising@app-network.org. We can't wait to hear about what you have planned!
Fabulous Fundraisers
Chester 10k: Well done to Scott and Rachel (above) who took part in the Chester 10k on 9th March! They chose to run for APP because Scott's wife, and Rachel’s best friend, Penny, had PP in 2020. We were especially excited to have them represent APP in Chester as the route of the 10k went very close to the brand new Mother and Baby Unit which opened there at the end of December. When Penny had PP she had to travel all the way to Stafford to receive MBU support, so this new Chester Unit means a lot to them.
Rachel's been fundraising in lots of different ways, including support from her sister's pub, The Wharf in Manchester. Find out more about Rachel's story and support her here.
For Scott, this is really just the warm up, as he's also planning to take on the Chester Half Marathon later in the year too! Rachel and Scott, thank you so much for all you’re doing for APP.
Bath Half: We're so excited to have Dan (above) representing APP in the Bath Half Marathon on 15th March. Dan was one of the student volunteers looking after APP at the Kings Fund/GSK Awards Ceremony last year. He was so moved by what he heard that he decided to take on this amazing challenge for us. Dan says: 'Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to meet some of the people behind APP, and it hit me how little awareness there is around something so serious. Hearing real stories from families who’ve been through it made me realise just how frightening and isolating it can be'.
Do add your support for Dan here and wish him lots of luck! Thank you Dan - we're all cheering you on!
London & Manchester Marathon Cheerleaders wanted!
We have runners representing APP in both the London and Manchester Marathons this year and we’d love to have as many supporters cheering them on in person as possible!
The dates are:
Manchester - Sunday 19th April
London - Sunday 26th April
There will be an amazing atmosphere at both events and you can be part of it! If you’d like to join our cheer team on either day, contact Fliss on fundraising@app-network.org for more details.
Thank you to Astorg Philanthropy Investments, represented and managed by Fondation Roi Baudouin whose employees across Europe voted for APP to receive an incredible €30,000. This donation will help us to develop our peer support café groups and train new peer support volunteers to enable us to be there for even more families in 2026.
APP Training: Best Practice Care in Postpartum Psychosis
APP training equips health professionals with the essential skills and knowledge to recognise and manage postpartum psychosis. You’ll hear from those with lived experience, APP staff, academics and clinicians. This highly rated training receives consistently positive feedback, with 100% saying they would recommend it to colleagues. For MBU and Perinatal Mental Health Teams who are already receiving APP training, new starters can book on to our online training free for the next 18 months. APP also runs 1-hour specialist lunch sessions for MBUs on topics like “Working with Peer Supporters”.
APP Ambassador, Laura Dockrill, shared her PP experience in the BBC video and podcast, Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett. Laura also joined Paloma Faith on her Mad, Sad, Bad podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
APP volunteer Lizzy and Dr Jess Heron highlighted concerns about women with PP having to travel long distances from home for MBU care in a BBC article. Lizzy’s story was also featured on BBC Yorkshire.
APP volunteer Jade shared her experience of PP with Happy Mum Happy Baby. Jade also spoke to Birthbabe magazine, along with APP Chief Executive Dr Jess Heron.
Irene's Ghost, a film supported by APP, is now available to stream on Disney Plus in the UK and EU. It's also available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, YouTube and others. The film is a moving part-documentary, part-animation, following Iain Cunningham’s search to find out about the mother he never knew. It examines the intricacies of family life, the things we don't discuss, and the inter-generational impacts of stigma surrounding PP.
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.
Evaluation of APP peer support at Mother and Baby Unit: first findings released
Preliminary findings from the RAPPORT study into APP’s peer support embedded in Mother and Baby Units were presented at a special event in Birmingham earlier this month.
The study, led by the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) at The London School of Economics, is assessing APP-provided peer support at three Mother and Baby Units in England (Lancashire, Birmingham and Manchester).
In a presentation at the Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health Programme Showcase, the research team explored:
How APP peer support shapes recovery for women and birthing people within Mother and Baby Units.
The journey to becoming a Peer Supporter, and how this role influences longer-term recovery.
What Mother and Baby Units need to deliver peer support safely, effectively, and sustainably.
An online webinar is being planned to share findings from the RAPPORT Study and discuss the conditions needed to optimise peer support delivery in MBUs. Find out more here.
New stories from our volunteers
“You feel so alone when you’re in the midst of PP, but you are not, I promise.
And you can, and will, recover.”
Our volunteers share their experiences of postpartum psychosis to help raise awareness of PP and campaign for improved services.
Thank you to Lizzy and Kayleigh whose stories have recently been added to our website.
Dates for your diary
Mother’s Day (UK), Sunday 15th March
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 18th March
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 18th March
APP UK wide virtual café group meet up, Thursday 19th March
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 20th March
World Storytelling Day, Friday 20th March
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 21st March
APP Wales face to face café group meet up in Wrexham, Saturday 21st March
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 13th April
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 15th April
APP Menopause virtual cafe group, Wednesday 29th April. More information to follow soon
APP LGBTQ+ virtual café group meet-up, Thursday 30th April
Contact information for all APP café groups is available here.
Conferences and events
Black Maternal Health Conference UK 2026, Friday 20th March
In person and online conference run by The Motherhood Group, bringing together mothers, healthcare professionals, VCSEs, organisations, policymakers, students and partners from across the UK. More details and booking information here.
Reading Group: Postpartum Psychosis in Art and Literature, Thursday 26th March
In-person reading group meeting, led by The Art Working Parents Alliance, at the Peer Gallery in London to discuss Jenn Ashworth’s memoir ‘Notes Made While Falling’, along with a selection of texts that explore portrayals of postpartum psychosis in art and literature. More information and book tickets here.
Suicide&Co’s sector summit, Wednesday 22nd April
In-person day in Westminster for professionals working with individuals bereaved by suicide. More details and booking information here.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Show 2026, Friday 15th May
Guest speakers, seminars and talks at Cardiff City Stadium event for health professionals, charity and Third Sector staff, parents and guardians. More details and book tickets here.
Recognising and Responding to Maternal Deterioration, Wednesday 20th May
Online conference looking at how MEWS, NEWTT2 and the Perinatal Optimisation Care Pathway have been adopted in organisations across the country and the impact on recognising and responding to deterioration in maternity care. 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.
I had never heard of postpartum psychosis before I experienced it and do not recall it being mentioned on any of the prenatal courses that I had studiously attended! It came as a total shock as I had always thought of myself as having very good mental health. I was very excited to become a mum, however, this incredibly exciting time was clouded by a terrifying experience and I couldn’t see any way through it – I certainly didn’t think I would ever recover.
I’m now sharing my story and training to run the London Marathon to increase awareness of this condition and give hope to those currently experiencing it.
I want others to know that you can make a full recovery and go back to leading a normal and very happy life.
My story
We were absolutely delighted to find out we were pregnant, it was a little earlier in our relationship than we had planned but all the same, we couldn’t wait to be parents. I had a relatively smooth pregnancy and had done ‘all the reading’ and attended lots of prenatal classes, NCT group, a breastfeeding course, baby first aid, etc. I thought I was well prepared for postpartum.
It all started with a traumatic birth, two days of labour with a dramatic rush into theatre for a c section which was narrowly avoided. Instead, my son was delivered by forceps and I had to have an episiotomy (a surgical incision to expedite delivery).
The long labour and pain from the episiotomy meant that I didn’t sleep well for almost a whole week. Thinking that this was ‘normal’ for new parents, we laughed off these initial warning signs. Then, I started to hallucinate, forgetting who I was, or who our son was.
I, and those closest to me, noticed that I was experiencing extreme highs and lows - feeling incredibly happy one moment and in total despair the next. I was very fortunate to have community midwives throughout my pregnancy who knew me well and also noticed that this wasn’t normal for me.
I was very nervous about asking for help - I had tried to hide how I was feeling and was constantly dismissing it as ‘normal baby blues’. It was a very confusing time for me and I remember not feeling like I could trust anyone. I had racing thoughts and felt like I couldn’t switch off so I gave up trying and offered to do all of the nights with our son as I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.
I was admitted to hospital on day three after giving birth as my husband was concerned about my very low mood. However, my more alarming symptoms were missed and they discharged me after helping me to breastfeed.
When I got back home I was very scared and knew that I needed help. On a routine visit on day seven, my community midwife advised me to contact 111 and ask for the mental health crisis team which I did. The mental health team responded very quickly and visited our house within a few hours and, at this point, my mind was constantly racing and I was very worried that I would never feel normal again. I remember finding the visits from the mental health team, perinatal team and social workers very difficult as I was struggling to retain information or sequence days, I felt like I was constantly confused and that there were too many strangers in my home. I wished that they would go away and leave us alone and I was hoping that I could say what they wanted to hear so they would leave and not come back. However, I was talking too quickly and therefore concerning the professionals even more and at one point they mentioned the possibility of sectioning me which led me into a complete panic.
However, I ended up being treated at home with daily appointments from the mental health crisis team and perinatal team. I had never heard of a mother and baby unit and now with hindsight, I believe that this would have been a brilliant option for me.
Although very reluctant to take any medication (I am the kind of person who won’t take paracetamol unless it is absolutely the last resort), I started to take Olanzapine about ten days postpartum. I didn’t get on well with it initially as the dosage was too high for me and I was very dizzy - not a great combination when caring for a new baby! But it definitely helped and allowed me to get the sleep and the break from my racing mind that I desperately needed.
The perinatal team in Suffolk were fantastic. I had regular meetings with my mental health nurse, Emma, and was lucky enough to be assigned a children’s nurse, Clare, who worked hard to ensure that I bonded with my son.
The perinatal team also organised walks and craft activities with other mothers in similar circumstances, which I found very helpful as it made me feel like I wasn’t the only new mum going through this.
Thankfully, once I started to sleep, it didn’t take too long to start feeling more like myself and I was able to start processing what had happened. I held onto the guilt for a very long time, feeling like I had spoilt the first few weeks of fatherhood for my husband and had ruined the excitement of a new baby for our whole family as they were all worrying about me. I think I am still coming to terms with what happened and making peace with it. It was a huge step forward when I felt comfortable to start speaking about what happened and that is what has led me to sharing my story more widely.
I do feel very fortunate in my experience, however, that I did maintain a bond with my son. Although at times I didn’t know who he was, which is heartbreaking, I continued to care for him all the same.
My message to others would be to trust the process - it is incredibly hard when you’re in the midst of postpartum psychosis but know that you can trust your closest family and friends to lead you back to yourself again with the support of the medical professionals. If you are not getting the support you need and are still not feeling right please continue to ask for help. Calling 111 worked for me and it's great that they now have a mental health option. Please keep reaching out if you need help, and know fantastic charities like APP are also here for you, to help signpost you and to support you as you recover.
I am now fundraising for APP by running the London Marathon in April in the hope of raising awareness for this incredible charity, and to share my story to bring hope to those mothers and families currently going through something similar.
I am now back to myself again, living a full and happy family life, alongside working full time as a high school teacher. I remember being frightened that I would never be able to do any of this again when I was unwell but now I am living proof that you can recover.
To sponsor Kayleigh’s London Marathon fundraiser, visit her fundraising page here.
If you need some motivation to keep up with your new year’s resolution, or you just fancy taking on a challenge this year, we have loads of opportunities for you to get involved with throughout 2026!
We already have more than 50 fundraisers signed up to take part in challenges this year, and we want to make it our biggest and most exciting fundraising year ever!
Join #TeamAPP and be part of our amazing fundraising community.
Or perhaps you could run to mark International Women’s Day on 8th March by joining an all female 5 or 10k in London or Manchester as part of the Women’s Run Series. If none of these are quite right for you, don’t worry! We can access places in hundreds of other events all over the country - find the one for you here or email Fliss to find out more.
Swimmers - you could be part of the Great North Swim in beautiful Lake Windermere this June - with distances ranging from 0.5miles to 10km, there’s something for everyone. Contact Fliss for more details on the different distances.
Walkers - How about taking part in one of Scotland’s amazing Kiltwalkevents? Or perhaps 2026 is the year you take on an epic ultra walk challenge? APP is now registered with UltraChallenge so you can access some incredible events like the Jurassic Coast 100k walk, London to Brighton, the Lake District or or North Yorks Ultra Walks… Find out more about all these and more here (select APP as your charity when you register). Plus sign up before the end of the month using the code HELLO2026 and you’ll receive 50% off the registration fee.
Or for the bravest, we can even organise bungee jumps and skydives! Get in touch with Fliss for more info.
Miles for Mums and Babies
Our aim for 2026 is to have our highest number of Miles for Mums and Babies participants ever - so whether you’re a veteran of Miles for Mums and Babies, or if this would be your first time, we want you on board!
With Miles for Mums and Babies, we want to raise awareness of the distance many families have to travel to receive support when they are ill. You choose your own challenge - pick a number of miles that means something to you - whether that’s the distance from your home to your nearest MBU, the number of MBUs in the country, or the miles from the most northerly MBU in the UK to the most southerly, or just a nice round number - whatever you want - then you aim to cover that number of miles through running, walking, swimming or cycling over a certain time period. You can do it alone or as a family, or as a team of work colleagues or friends.
You could aim to walk 1000 miles this year, run a mile a day in May, swim 20 miles in a week or cycle the distance between two MBUs. Or you could complete your miles in a totally different way. In the past we’ve had paddleboarders, toddlers and even rollerskaters - maybe you’re a climber, a dancer or a kayaker?
Contact Fliss to receive your free Miles for Mums and Babies info pack and start making plans for your challenge today!
Support Squads
If perhaps taking on a challenge isn’t something you can commit to in 2026, we’d still love you to join our cheer team! On April 26th we’ll have our biggest ever team of runners taking part in the world famous London Marathon, and we need you to help us cheer them on the big day! Plus we have runners taking part in the Manchester Marathon on 19th April, Chester Half on 17th May and the Bath Half on 15th March and we need supporters for all of them too! Even if you can just spare half an hour or so on the day, your support could make all the difference and help our runners get to that finish line, and being on the sidelines for these events is so inspiring and joyful! Email Fliss for more info on how to get involved.
Thank you fundraisers
A big thank you to Olly for adding APP branding to his amazing racing kart - a completely new way to raise awareness!
Olly’s partner Hannah had PP after the birth of their baby and they decided this would be a good way to reach new people. Hannah says:
‘I’m so proud that he is raising awareness of this illness as when I got ill with it, none of my family and friends had heard of it. So we are big believers in spreading as much awareness as possible for postpartum psychosis.’
A big thank you to APP volunteer Iqra for donating 10% of the profits from her new cinnamon roll baking business to APP - helping to raise both funds and awareness.
We know January can be a tricky time for finances, so we’ve compiled a list of ways you can support APP without spending a single penny! Check out all the ideas here, and let us know if you decide to try any of them out. One way to support us for free, and is also an activity that might help you with a post Christmas clear up, is to get involved with recycling for APP. Recycling for Good Causes will collect unwanted or broken items including jewellery, watches, any currency, old mobile phones, old cameras, stamps and electrical gadgets such as sat-navs, Ipods, MP3 players, games consoles, games & accessories… They’ll send you a free recycling sack, and pick it up for free too. An APP staff member filled a couple of sacks last year and raised some much needed funds.
We are recruiting: join our team in the North West
We're looking for a Peer Support Facilitator to work across two innovative collaborative projects in the North West region: with Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWPFT) providing peer support to inpatients at Seren Lodge, the new Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Chester; and with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) providing peer support at the Ribbemere Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Chorley as well as in the community in Lancashire and South Cumbria.
This is a 4 day per week role with time split between two sites:
Seren Lodge MBU in Chester, supporting women one-to-one and through small group activities; talking to partners and families of women during the acute illness phase and signposting to APP’s online support, community forum, and information.
Our Lancashire and South Cumbria project, supporting women and family members at Ribblemere on discharge from the ward, and with the specialist community perinatal teams across Lancashire & South Cumbria, which may include support in pregnancy for women at risk of PP. The Peer Support Facilitator will also arrange cafe groups for recovering and recovered women with experience of PP in the region.
We’re also looking for casual peer support worker(s) with lived experience of postpartum psychosis to provide peer support to women and families affected by PP in the North West region. There are more details about both roles on our website here: https://www.app-network.org/about-us/jobs/ . The closing date for applications is 1st February 2026.
On Saturday 31st January we are holding a peer support volunteer training day in Chester. If you’re interested in joining our volunteer team or are considering applying for our vacancies in the North West region, we would love to talk to you about the face to face training day on 31st January. For more details please email jenny@app-network.org.
Campaign update: Mother and Baby Unit for Northern Ireland
We are nearing the end of the process to determine if an interim in-patient Mother and Baby Unit is a possibility. Our determination for a permanent solution remains solid. - says Mike Nesbitt, Northern Ireland Health Minister.
Action on Postpartum Psychosis and partners met with the NI Health Minister again this month to discuss urgent support for mothers experiencing postpartum psychosis and the importance of dedicated in-patient care for mothers and babies. This is an important step towards ensuring families get the specialist care they urgently need.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). Mums admitted to general psychiatric wards are separated from their babies, which can delay recovery and impact family bonding. APP has campaigned for MBUs for over 10 years. Research shows mothers recover faster, feel safer, and gain confidence when treated in an MBU.
The meeting included Dr Jo Black, Perinatal Psychiatrist (Devon Partnership NHS Trust and MBU), Dr Jess Heron, CEO (APP), Liz Morrison, NI Media Consultant (APP), and representatives from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), Women’s Resource and Development Agency (WRDA) and Aware NI.
Our campaigning for a Mother and Baby Unit in NI continues. Thank you to everyone who has shared their stories and helped raise awareness so far.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by postpartum psychosis, now or many years ago, and would like support or to join our Lived Experience community, including our NI group, email ellie@app-network.org for more information.
PP and diagnosis - Action on Postpartum Psychosis needs your help
An international panel of women's mental health experts has issued a call for postpartum psychosis (PP) to be properly recognised in diagnosis classification manuals. Professor Veerle Bergink of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Erasmus University in Rotterdam led a panel of prominent PP academics, including APP's Professor Ian Jones and Trustee Clare Dolman, in developing a consensus statement about PP diagnosis.
The team has spent several years pulling together clinical and biological evidence, and consulting patient groups, to show that postpartum psychosis deserves recognition as an official diagnosis. Although the term is used widely by clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience, currently, diagnostic manuals force doctors to classify postpartum psychosis under a range of different names in different subsections of the classification manual, leading to confusion for patients, clinicians and researchers alike.
For academics, clinicians and those with personal experience, use of the term ‘postpartum psychosis’ is essential in order to differentiate the different treatment, risk factors, symptoms and expected outcomes compared to psychosis or bipolar that occurs at other times.
APP will be putting together evidence that the current system is confusing for both patients and clinicians - and hindering high quality research into PP.
If accepted by the team which oversees the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in the US, could lead to improvements in patient care and research quality globally.
You can read the expert committee’s consensus statement here.
If you, or your family, has been affected by the issue of diagnosis, you can share your stories by joining a discussion on our forum. If you have a story you would like to share with us about how diagnosis or confusion around diagnosis impacted your care, you can get in touch via email too. Please include DSM in the subject line of your email and send to app@app-network.org
National call for evidence to help shape the future of maternity and neonatal care in England
Your voice matters. And right now, it can help shape the future of maternity and neonatal care in England.
Baroness Amos has launched a national Call for Evidence, inviting women, families and support networks to share their real experiences of maternity and neonatal services. These responses will directly inform the findings and recommendations of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.
Why is this so important?
Policies, standards, and improvements are strongest when they hear and listen to lived experience. Numbers and data tell part of the story, but personal accounts reveal where care and support works, where it falls short, and where change is urgently needed. Whether your experience was positive, challenging, or somewhere in between, it all holds value, and we’d like postpartum psychosis experiences to be represented in the data.
This Call for Evidence is open for eight weeks, from 20th January to 17th March 2026, and there are two surveys:
One for women and people who have been pregnant to share their own experiences of maternity and neonatal care
One for partners, fathers, family members, friends, or others who supported someone through pregnancy and birth
You must be aged 16 or over to respond. If you are under 16, you can still take part with someone who is 16 or over.
If you or someone you know has been affected by maternity or neonatal services, please consider taking the time to respond. And if you work in health, policy, advocacy, or leadership, please help amplify this call for evidence.
This is a real opportunity to be heard and help shape better and safer care and support for future families.
Help transform care for families affected by postpartum psychosis. With demand for our services growing and an ambitious five-year plan in development, we are seeking trustees to strengthen and diversify our Board.
We are seeking trustees who share our commitment to improving the lives of women and families affected by postpartum psychosis and preventing maternal suicides. You do not need previous board experience. APP is committed to building a Board that reflects the diverse communities we support. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are particularly seeking increased representation from Black and Asian backgrounds. We would like to hear from senior clinicians/academics: with a special interest in postpartum psychosis research or care, with experience as a Clinical Lead for a Mother and Baby Unit and/or of national policy development. We would also like to hear from people with skills in: national health policy/service development; philanthropy/grant-giving; accounting and finance; charity law; diversity and inclusion; scaling global health initiatives; and digital innovation/cyber-security. Lived experience of postpartum psychosis is warmly welcomed, but not a requirement for the trustee role.
To express interest or arrange an informal conversation with the Acting Chair (Anna Jones), Vice Chair (Professor Ian Jones) and CEO (Dr Jess Heron) please email: Emma Harvey (PA to the CEO): emma@app-network.org. Please include a brief CV/bio and a short note about: your background, why you are interested in supporting APP and any particular skills or perspectives you would bring.
APP London virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 27th January
APP Sussex and Hampshire face to face café group meet up in Winchester, Saturday 24th January
APP Birmingham face to face café group meet up, Friday 30th January
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up, Friday 30th January
APP North East face to face café group meet up in Newcastle, Saturday 31st January
APP Muslim women’s virtual café group meet up, Thursday 5th February
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackburn, Friday 6th February
APP South Wales face to face café group meet up, Saturday 7th February
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 9th February
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Friday 6th February
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackpool, Friday 13th February
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 18th February
APP Black women’s virtual café group meet up, Friday 20th February
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 20th February
APP Northern Ireland face to face café group meet up in Belfast, Saturday 21st February
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 28th February
APP peer support virtual café group meet up - mental health difficulties after postpartum psychosis, Wednesday 4th March
APP Scotland face to face café group meet up in Edinburgh, Saturday 7th March
APP North Wales face to face café group meet up, Saturday 21st March
Contact information for all APP café groups is availablehere.
Conferences and events
From Harm to Hope: the 11th annual Self Harm and Suicide Prevention festival, Friday 27th February
Annual conference run by Harmless – the national centre of excellence for self harm and suicide prevention. The day in Nottingham will feature a range of expert speakers and leading academics. Booking information here.
Black Maternal Health Conference UK 2026, Friday 20th March
In person and online conference run by The Motherhood Group, bringing together mothers, healthcare professionals, VCSEs, organisations, policymakers, students and partners from across the UK. More details and booking information here.
Suicide&Co’s sector summit, Wednesday 22nd April
In-person day in Westminster for professionals working with individuals bereaved by suicide. More details and booking information here.
If you would like to advertise your event here, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.
Need some motivation to keep up with your new year’s resolution, or just fancy taking on a new challenge this year? Look no further! We have loads of opportunities for you to get involved with throughout 2026!
We already have more than 50 fundraisers signed up to take part in challenges this year, and we want to make 2026 our biggest and most exciting fundraising year ever!
Join #TeamAPP and be part of our incredible fundraising community.
Or perhaps you could mark International Women’s Day on 8th March by joining a friendly all female 5 or 10k in London or Manchester as part of the Women’s Run Series. If none of these are quite right for you, don’t worry! We have access to places in hundreds of other events all over the country - find the one for you here or email Fliss to get some inspiration.
Walkers
Perhaps 2026 is the year you take on an epic ultra walk challenge? APP is now registered with UltraChallenge so you can access some incredible events like the Jurassic Coast 100k walk, London to Brighton, the Lake District or or North Yorks Ultra Walks… Find out more about all these and more here (remember to select APP as your charity when you register).
Or if you're in Scotland, how about taking part in one of the amazing Kiltwalkevents which take place in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen?
Swimmers
You could be part of the Great North Swim in beautiful Lake Windermere this June - with distances ranging from 0.5miles to 10km, there’s something for everyone.
A team from South West Yorks Perinatal Team took part for APP last year and had a fabulous time!
Or for the bravest, we can even organise bungee jumps and skydives! Get in touch with Fliss for more info.
Whatever you're thinking about, let us know and we can help find exactly the right event for you - from 2.5k to 100k, right across the UK and even overseas - and throughout the year. We'll do our best to match you with your perfect challenge!
Fundraising through events like these makes a huge difference to the work APP does - last year challenge event fundraising helped us be able to train new peer support volunteers, provide vital information booklets to MBUs, and offer life changing, life saving peer support to hundreds of families affected by postpartum psychosis. Plus event fundraising helps to raise awareness of PP. We're so grateful to all our fundraisers, and all those that support them. Every event and every donation really does make a difference.
After a smooth pregnancy I experienced a long and traumatic labour. My baby was back-to-back which put pressure on my nerves, and I didn’t sleep once throughout the labour which lasted for days. When postpartum psychosis hit, those traumatic birthing experiences came flooding back…
Before postpartum psychosis I’d never suffered any mental health problems. There were things that I was naturally anxious about relating to the birth – because you read so much about what can go wrong – but generally the pregnancy went smoothly.
The labour, however, was incredibly difficult. Because my baby, Patrick, was born back-to-back (i.e. he was facing the wrong way) he was pushing on my nerves which gave me the sensation to push when my body wasn’t ready to. My waters were also broken by the midwife with no prior warning, which made me think for a split second that I’d haemorrhaged. So my labour lasted a long time and I didn’t get any sleep. In fact, I think I only managed about two to three hours in four or five days.
Patrick was delivered by forceps and I had a Grade 3 tear that needed stitches. He was also mistakenly taken for blood tests because they thought his kidneys weren’t working (a nurse had failed to record when he’d had a wee.) At one point in the postpartum ward I noticed Patrick choking on mucus next to me but I was unable to get to him because of the epidural. I rang the buzzer and shouted but it took ages for someone to respond. Combined with the sleep deprivation, all of this was making me feel extremely anxious.
It was around then that I started to become suspicious that the midwives were talking about me being a first-time neurotic mum and I discharged myself at 4am- an incredibly out of character move.
When my husband was driving us home, I started shouting at him to be careful of the runners in the road. This was my first hallucination – there were no runners in the road.
At first, we kind of laughed it off and put it down to sleep deprivation and the tramadol I was taking. We didn’t realise it was a sign of what was to come.
When we got home, I was convinced that the house was on fire because I could see smoke. Again, we put it down to lack of sleep and painkillers, but my mum moved in to help us out anyway as everyone was starting to get worried about me.
The first evening I spent at home I remember being in agony because of the tear that I had suffered. I was terrified that the stitches were going to burst. That’s when I ran to our car with no shoes on wearing only maternity knickers and a shirt, begging Adam to take me back to hospital. I was seen in triage and sadly none of the professionals who saw me noticed the red flags of psychosis that were quickly developing. My physical health was checked and I was sent home.
I reverted to very childlike and vulnerable behaviour. I also began speaking very quickly and not making much sense. I kept forgetting Patrick’s name. A midwife visited me for the two-day check-up and I remember thinking I wished our regular midwife could be there because I knew I wasn’t myself and she would have noticed that.
At that point I was still wearing my hospital band and I hadn’t showered or brushed my hair in days. I felt like a voice in my head was almost screaming please get me help to those around me but I couldn’t actually say it out loud. My mum actually did ask the midwife for mental health support but the midwife said there was no need – she said I just needed a good night’s sleep and a walk around the block.
But my increasingly strange behaviour continued. I was rubbing my stomach a lot despite Patrick not being in there anymore. I was constantly pacing, and my mum described me as doing everything and nothing. Patrick was crying and I was zoned out and couldn’t even hear him. My mum would say maybe he needs his nappy changed but I couldn’t work out how to do it – I couldn’t even make a cup of tea. I was so confused.
I didn’t eat. I kept saying I was going for a shower but not going. I was flitting through lots of thoughts and feelings - one minute feeling positive, the next teary. That’s when I started using my notes app on my phone to keep track of my thoughts.
I could not sleep. No matter how hard I tried or how tired I felt.
My brain was wired, my thoughts going at 100mph. I was googling about postpartum insomnia, trying to understand why I couldn’t sleep.
On the morning that I was sectioned, things get hazy. I still hadn’t slept or eaten. I remember feeling a primal urge to scream. My mum tells me that I ran and attempted to throw myself at the window. I thought I had died in childbirth and I started screaming that I was in hell and reeling off goodbyes to people. Then I started believing my mum had died, and that Patrick had died. At one point I was terrified that I had killed Patrick myself. I have little to no memories of this episode, it was an out of body experience.
My mum then shouted Adam to call 999 as she thought I might have psychosis. She spent her career in social care so was vaguely familiar with it. She’d also watched Stacey’s story in EastEnders and recognised what may be happening. Meanwhile I lay on the floor in the living room, shouting and screaming. Eventually the police and an ambulance came and I was taken to hospital, terrified. When I got to A&E I was covered in my own urine because part of my psychotic episode involved pushing, as if I was still giving birth, and I thought the urine was me haemorrhaging. I was also having terrible hallucinations of Patrick choking because of my experience in the postpartum ward.
Eventually, I was sectioned and transported to Derby Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) as there was no room in the Leeds MBU nearby.
When I got there I was immediately given olanzapine. I was still psychotic for a while, eventually convincing myself I was pregnant with twins and thinking I still had to give birth to one baby (this stems from my husband being a twin). During one episode I even burst my stitches too. I couldn’t feel pain - it was an out of body experience.
Eventually, after a few days, the antipsychotics started to kick in and I very quickly returned to myself. I remember feeling really embarrassed then. I asked my parents to show the MBU staff photos of me on my wedding day and to tell them I’m a teacher because I couldn’t believe what they saw me doing.
But after all that time thinking that I was in hell, I started to realise that I was in a good place. The MBU wasn’t hell, it was more like heaven. It saved me.
I was so relieved to be over the psychosis, but then depression hit me like a ton of bricks. I adored Patrick but couldn’t show it and I struggled to be near him. I withdrew from everyone and didn’t want to leave my room. I wouldn’t wish depression like that on my worst enemy. The doctors upped my sertraline and things gradually did get better but it took a while and a lot of care from the staff.
I left the MBU at the end of January having been there since the end of November. My mum and dad got an Airbnb close by to help settle me back in and the good days started outweighing the bad. Patrick becoming more smiley and interactive healed me a lot and I started going to baby groups and opening up to people about what I’d been through.
My mum found APP. She was supported by a grandmother peer supporter, and found great comfort in this. I then reached out and met Ellie, one of the peer supporters, in York. It helped me so much speaking to someone else who has been through what I had. When you’re coming to terms with what happened to you, you think to yourself, surely that’s a unique experience. But actually there’s a huge community of people with a lot in common.
Now I’m determined to spread awareness.
I’d never had any mental health issues in the past, so postpartum psychosis hit me completely out of the blue. It really can happen to anybody, so I want to be open with people about my experience.
I would say to anyone going through postpartum psychosis that, as scary as it feels, there is a community of people waiting for you when you’re better. You feel so alone when you’re in the midst of it, but you are not, I promise. And you can, and will, recover.
APP has been awarded a new NHS contract to provide peer support within the new Seren Lodge Mother and Baby Unit (MBU).
The new Seren Lodge MBU officially launched on 15th December. It is a first of its kind cross-border perinatal mental health facility designed to support women from Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales. The unit will work alongside the existing regional Community Perinatal Mental Health service who already care for thousands of women every year.
Jocelyn and Sally from Action on Postpartum Psychosis at the opening of Seren Lodge Mother and Baby Unit, Chester. December 2025
APP works with a number of MBUs around the country to provide peer support to women in hospital as well as in the community. The charity, recently acknowledged with a prestigious GSK Impact Award, also provides MBU support in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Birmingham and Solihull as well as a huge network of in-person and virtual café groups across the UK including Northern Ireland.
Dr Jess Heron, CEO, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “As an organisation founded on lived experience, we’re delighted to be able to reach and support more women and families around the UK via this new NHS partnership. Many women have told us that having someone to speak to who has experienced postpartum psychosis themselves and come through the other side brings hope and reduces fear, so we know this new service will be an invaluable addition to Seren Lodge.”
Dr Sally Wilson, National Training Coordinator, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “APP has been working with partners and families with lived experience to campaign for more MBUs for many years now, so we’re really excited to see the much-needed Seren Lodge MBU take shape. We know through our own research that women being treated in MBUs rather than general psychiatric wards enjoy more positive outcomes, and being able to add value to this through the provision of peer support will be truly transformative.
Seren Lodge will provide a home from home for women and their babies and include a nursery, sensory room, and multiple lounges to support quiet time and family visits. Having access to outside spaces is central to the development with two garden areas and a walking pram loop, with families benefitting from close access to the Countess Country Park. Seren Lodge will also provide dedicated space and Welsh-language resources for women from North Wales who have previously struggled to access MBU beds.
Sarah Dearden, APP Storyteller said: "When I first became unwell with postpartum psychosis when my son was six days old I was admitted to a general psychiatric ward. There were no available MBU beds and being admitted to the wrong and very scary environment made the fear and confusion so much worse. That's why Seren Lodge is so wonderful and crucial. Mums and babies can stay together and stop the anguish of being separated."
Dr Heron added: “This new unit will ensure that new mothers with severe postnatal illness will be cared for appropriately and supported with parenting, without having to travel miles from their families or ending up in adult psychiatric wards and separated from their newborn. APP has been fortunate to work with the Seren Lodge team to ensure the voices of lived experience are heard throughout the development process, so we are confident that this new facility will be a much-needed addition to the UK’s perinatal mental health provision.”
Seren Lodge MBU is the result of a partnership between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCHUB), Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England and NHS Wales. It has been supported and informed by CWP’s Helix experts by experience group.
Could you become an APP peer supporter?
If you have lived experience of postpartum psychosis and live within the Seren Lodge catchment area (Cheshire / Merseyside / North Wales) APP would love to hear from you. The charity is currently recruiting for a Peer Support Facilitator and a Peer Support Worker and will be holding a training day in Chester on 31st January 2026. Find out more here.
Season’s greetings and a happy new year from everyone at APP
A message from APP's Chief Executive, Dr Jessica Heron:
“On behalf of APP, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us this year. APP is a lifeline for many families, and we couldn’t do it without you - our supporters, fundraisers, volunteers and community. Every peer support call, experience shared in the media, bake sale, marathon run and skydive plays a vital role in improving the future for others.
During 2025, hundreds of families found hope and recovery, supported by our trained staff and volunteers. You’ll see in this newsletter that 97% of those who completed our survey felt more supported after finding APP, and 44% believed they might not be alive without the support they received from APP.
In 2025, nearly 3,000 health professionals heard an APP speaker via a lived experience talk, APP full day training, and our suicide prevention webinar. 100% say our training will change their practice and 100% would recommend it to other professionals.
We have sent hundreds of APP’s free information guides and resource packs to Mother and Baby Units, Perinatal Mental Health Services, Maternity Services and organisations working with new families throughout the UK. We’ve supported key research, and through our patient information, professional training and awareness-raising, we ensure that knowledge reaches families and professionals and isn’t locked behind scientific journal paywalls. We’ve supported more than 35 media stories and creative pieces this year, including PP storylines on Hollyoaks and Casualty.
We’ve continued to campaign tirelessly for women with PP to access Mother and Baby Units, working to ensure these facilities are valued and their budgets protected. We’re delighted that the Chester MBU supporting women across North Wales and Cheshire has opened this month- and will have an embedded APP peer support worker. Later in this newsletter, you’ll hear that the Northern Ireland Health Minister made a moving speech committing to a MBU in Northern Ireland, but still no funding or timeframe has been confirmed.
2025 saw APP’s first Adventure - with families from our community and health professionals coming together in the beautiful Peak District to take on a 13km walk of Mam Tor (Mother Hill) passing through the village of Hope, raising nearly £12,000 for APP in the process.
We were also honoured to receive the prestigious GSK impact award - recognising small charities making a big difference. Judges praised APP’s ‘unique integration of lived experience’ and our ‘powerful partnerships with the NHS’.
From everyone at APP, I wish you and your loved ones a restful and happy festive season. We know that for some families, Christmas and New Year can be a difficult time, particularly for those with loved ones spending Christmas in an MBU or struggling with recovery. You are not on our own – APP’s peer supporters are available every day of the year via our Forum”.
Peer Support during the festive period
APP’s Forum is open as usual over the festive period. Our staff and volunteers are here to support anyone who needs to talk to others who have been there.
If you are emailing the office, or requesting one to one email or video call support over the festive period, please bear with us. It may take a few days for us to get back to you.
New Chester Mother and Baby Unit opening
APP staff and members of the Helix Experts by Experience group were delighted to attend the official opening of Seren Lodge, the new Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Chester, on Monday 15th December.
The unit, which will support women from Cheshire, Merseyside, and North Wales, welcomed its first patients on Wednesday. It has been designed as a home from home for mothers and babies and includes a nursery and sensory room, lounges for quiet time and family visits, gardens with a walking pram loop and Welsh-language support for North Wales families.
APP’s Jocelyn Ellams and Sally Wlison went to the opening ceremony. Jocelyn said:
“What made the day even more meaningful was that my son, Seth, was able to see first-hand the incredible facility now available to mums and babies across Cheshire and North Wales. Experts by Experience have been involved from the very beginning, shaping the space to ensure it feels as homely, safe, and supportive as possible for mothers during a crucial time. I feel incredibly privileged to have been part of this journey, alongside some truly
Sally said: “This is such fantastic news for families affected by postpartum psychosis and perinatal mental illness. I live in North Wales, and I was separated from my daughter and treated in a general psychiatric hospital when I was ill with postpartum psychosis in 2015. This was incredibly traumatic for me and my family and it took me a long time to recover. So many people and organisations have worked incredibly hard to see this happen. This will help to ensure that all families have access to the treatment and support that will allow them to recover from these devastating illnesses.”
APP has been campaigning for more Mother and Baby Units in the UK for more than ten years. Our research shows that women who receive care for postpartum psychosis in MBUs feel more satisfied with the care they receive, feel safer, feel more confident in the knowledge of the staff, recover more quickly and feel more confident with their baby when they go home.
Want to help make a difference? If you have lived experience of postpartum psychosis and live in Cheshire, Merseyside, the wider NW region, or North Wales, you could become an APP peer support volunteer. The next training day will be 31st January 2026 in Chester. For more details, email: app@app-network.org.
Are you a Black mum who has experienced mania, bipolar or psychosis after giving birth? Did you find it difficult to speak up about it and worried about what other people or friends and family might say or think? Would you like to connect and talk with other Black mums?
Join us at our new, friendly online café group, meeting on Zoom at 7.30pm on the third Friday of every month, led by Rachel, APP's peer support facilitator.
We’re so proud of APP’s collaboration with Hollyoaks on its recent issue-based storyline.
Hollyoaks has been exploring postpartum psychosis (PP): Cleo McQueen, played by Nadine Mulkerrin, struggles with her mental health following the traumatic birth of her first child, Joseph.
APP colleagues and storytellers have been advising on the storyline. Nadine Mulkerrin, who plays Cleo McQueen, said: “It’s been a new challenge taking on the role of motherhood and the difficulties that being a new mum can bring, especially the strain it can have on your mental health. We had a consultation with APP whilst filming, and it was helpful to hear other people’s experiences - my heart breaks for poor Cleo.”
Dr Jess Heron, APP Chief Executive, said: “Responsible portrayals of PP on popular TV shows such as Hollyoaks are invaluable. With greater public awareness, partners, friends, family members and frontline health professionals will be more able to quickly spot the signs and seek specialist emergency help as soon as possible. We’re grateful to Hollyoaks for playing a part in awareness raising and for their diligent approach to producing a sensitive and accurate storyline.”
We are recruiting: new team administrator role
APP is recruiting a Team Administrator to help manage our busy virtual office. You will act as the first point of contact for many people getting in touch with the charity online and via telephone.
The successful candidate will be warm, friendly, empathetic and supportive of the women and families we help. We’re looking for someone to work closely with the Senior Management and back office teams as well as our Community Engagement Manager to respond to enquiries by phone and email; maintain stocks of fundraising materials and literature; and update website content. The role also includes finance administration tasks.
This is an excellent opportunity to join our highly dedicated, passionate and supportive team. Full details of how to apply for the role are on our website. The application deadline is midnight on 19th January 2026.
Update: Northern Ireland Mother and Baby Unit Campaign
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU), a specialist inpatient mental health facility where mothers can be admitted with their babies for care and treatment. Instead, mothers who develop PP are admitted to general acute psychiatric wards for non-specialist treatment, separating them from babies. Our research shows that women who receive care in MBUs feel more satisfied with the care they receive, feel safer, feel more confident in the knowledge of the staff, recover more quickly and feel more confident with their baby when they go home.
Liz Morrison, APP’s Northern Ireland campaign consultant, shares an update:
Thank you so much to everyone who’s helped raise awareness of the urgent need for an MBU in Northern Ireland (NI). We made a big stride forward when the issue was debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly in October.
The debate saw strong cross-party support and powerful testimony from both MLAs and the Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, who said: “A Mother and Baby Unit is not overdue or long overdue: it is long, long overdue.” Outlining his own family’s experience of severe postnatal mental illness, the Minister said he wants to go ahead with an MBU in Belfast but didn’t go as far as guaranteeing funding.
MLAs from all parties urged the Minister to find the funds for an MBU. Most urged that in the meantime a temporary ward is opened, and that women be given the option to travel to England, Scotland or Wales for treatment with their babies if that’s what they want. APP had briefed the MLAs about options for families while we await a MBU. We’re really pleased that they set out our asks clearly and even praised APP for our ‘tireless campaigning.’
Huge thanks to the members of APP’s Northern Ireland peer support group who have spoken out in the media and met with politicians. The debate in the Assembly came about as a direct result of Teresa Hawke joining other APP reps to meet with Sinn Féin MLAs. Órlaithí Flynn MLA was moved by her story and worked to bring the debate forward. We can’t say a big enough thank you to everyone who has shared their story with journalists, health officials and politicians.
Welcome to 8 new peer support volunteers (pictured above alongside APP’s Ellie and Jenny), who joined us online for a training day earlier this month.
Our peer support volunteers have all experienced postpartum psychosis themselves (or are a partner or family member of someone who has experienced PP). They generously give some of their time to support others through 1:1 peer support, our cafe groups and our online peer support forum.
If you would like to know more about our peer support, or about volunteering with us in this way, do please get in touch. We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers!
APP’s annual peer support survey
Thank you to everyone who completed our 2025 peer support survey. We continue to hear how important peer support is to recovery from PP - for those newly recovering and for many years after PP.
Overall, since finding APP...
97% felt more supported
89% felt less isolated
98% felt more informed about PP
91% felt less negative about PP
96% felt more hopeful about the future
96% felt that APP had helped, or was helping, them to recover
90% felt more able to talk about their PP with family, friends and health professionals
44% said they might not be alive if they had not found APP's peer support services
A wealth of feedback was shared through your thoughtful and detailed comments. We will be considering all of your insights and suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Below are just a few of the many comments shared through the survey:
“To meet other women who have experienced PP is invaluable and even some years later, I still seek solace and comfort in engaging with APP’s support. I do not know how I would come to terms with the illness had I not had APP. It would be extremely isolating.”
“I have found the additional benefits by accessing peer support have been so many ... meeting mums who related to my experiences, virtual conversations with mums / families from all corners of the world. Celebrating what a courageous group of women we are!”
“I think that APP's peer support service is so important and when I was ill all those years ago, I would have loved to have had access to the services available now. It is so helpful and reassuring to know that we are not alone and that we will recover.”
“Support came at a critical time and gave us hope and reassurance about the future. This service is essential for families experiencing trauma and the ongoing fallout from a loved one experiencing PP.”
“APP is amazing. They have literally changed my life. After having my daughter and suffering PP I thought I'd never be the same person again and I didn't enjoy being a mum. Now I am confident again and enjoy spending time with my daughter as our bond has grown. I enjoy meeting other people and talking to others who understand.”
New research collaboration to tackle ethnic inequalities in perinatal severe mental illness
APP is supporting a ground-breaking new study that aims to transform postpartum mental health care for mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds or those living in deprived areas who experience severe mental illness.
The Improving Postpartum Outcomes of Severe Mental Illnesses in Ethnically Diverse Mothers (POSIE) project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a collaboration between several UK universities, including the University of Oxford, NHS Trusts and charities. It aims to identify practical ways to improve care for mothers experiencing serious mental illnesses such as severe depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis.
Suicide remains the leading cause of death among mothers in the first year after giving birth with women from Black ethnic backgrounds almost three times more likely to die in the year following childbirth compared to white mothers. Women from Asian backgrounds also face an increased risk.
Shaheda Akhtar, APP’s a peer support facilitator, who will lead Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) for the POSIE project, said: “We regularly hear from Black and Asian women who've had postpartum psychosis about delays in treatment and admission, that care and information did not feel appropriate to them, and they had difficulties finding information about this treatable medical emergency. Going to a Mother and Baby Unit can be quite frightening when you don't know anything about them. Our peer supporters help women to understand what they are experiencing and combat isolation and fear. We educate health professionals by sharing women’s powerful stories, but we know that services are crying out for evidence-based practical ways to improve care for Black and Asian women.”
Thank you so much to everyone who supported our Big Give Christmas Challenge appeal this year. We raised an amazing £9,670.
This will go a really long way to help us support hundreds of families during 2026.
Thank you also to our generous supporter and to The Julia Rausing Trust for matching donations for the duration of the Big Give appeal.
Watch APP’s 2025 Webinar
If you missed our October webinar, ‘Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide’ you can watch it here.
The webinar is aimed at frontline health professionals working with families in the perinatal period, the webinar is supported by fundraising in memory of Alex Baish. We know this can be a difficult and emotive topic for many people, so please take care when watching. Please share this free training widely with GPs, midwives, health visitors, and perinatal team staff.
This was the third webinar in APP's series, which has reached nearly 10,000 health professionals.
A huge thank you to everyone who has watched so far, and to our brilliant speakers for sharing their insights and experiences.
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week
2026 will see the 10th Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week. The Perinatal Mental Health Partnership is looking for feedback.
If you have ideas on what the 10th Awareness week should cover, please fill in the short form here.
APP at the College of Paramedics conference
On Friday 24th October, APPs National Training Coordinator Sally presented to 300 ambulance, emergency medicine, maternity and nursing staff at the ‘Pre-Hospital Maternity and Newborn Conference’, hosted by the College of Paramedics at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Wales. Sally talked about experiencing postpartum psychosis, how to spot the signs and symptoms of PP, and the pathways of care to specialist services.
Sally said: “It was a privilege to be invited to speak to health professionals who are on the frontline supporting families during the perinatal period. I was inspired by the many dedicated practitioners I met who are committed to expanding their understanding of postpartum psychosis and strengthening their connection with APP.”
APP at the GMMH Stars Awards
APP’s Manchester’s Mother and Baby Unit peer support team were excited to be nominated for the GMMH Stars Awards, 2025. Rachel & Ali (pictured above) enjoyed an evening of formal dinner and awards ceremony to showcase the inspirational people working at, and in partnership with, Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust.
APP was one of three organisations nominated for the Outstanding Partner Organisation Award, with an incredible 603 nominations across categories submitted by GMMH staff, service users, their carers and families. Despite not being the overall winners, the team, Rachel, Ali and Nicola, received a Highly Commended certificate. We’re all very proud of you!
APP’s peer support project in Manchester was set up in September 2023. We offer peer support in the ward, during hospital discharge, and through a café group in the community. Find out more here.
Fabulous fundraisers
The biggest well done and thank you to Ross who completed the 63km Tollymore Extreme Ultra Trail Marathon for APP earlier this month - what an epic challenge! Ross raised over £9,000 and has done a huge amount to help raise awareness of PP and of the need for an MBU and more specialist care particularly in Northern Ireland. Read more and watch his inspirational video on Instagram. Thank you Ross!
APP’s super volunteers Chris and Natalie were back in action earlier in November, following up their previous fundraising efforts, this time with a 160ft bungee jump over Bray Lake in Windsor! They very bravely took the plunge for APP, raising more than £350. Chris has also continued his football stadium awareness raising tour with a trip to Notts County FC this month.
Also in action in the last couple of months were Lauren-Nicole, Aaron, Gareth and Dom who took on the Amsterdam Marathon for APP, raising over £1,500 between them; Jessie and Pendra who completed the Royal Parks Half; and Olivia who completed a 100km Miles for Mums and Babies challenge during October - well done!
A BIG thank you to the Inbound and Replenishment Team at John Lewis & Partners Magna Park for the amazing fundraising they’ve done for APP over the last few months - from cycling challenges to ice cream selling, the nightshift team have done so much to raise funds and awareness. Our Fundraiser Fliss went to thank the team and got a full tour of the warehouse earlier this month. Thank you!
Over in Northern Ireland, for the second year running, Lucy and friends hosted a fabulous festive bake sale and raffle for APP, raising more than £400. It’s now become an annual tradition! Thank you Lucy.
Salesforce need a huge thank you from us too, they recently supported APP by hosting an event for us. Their team were so moved by what APP does, that they chose to fundraise for us during their recent festive activities also - crafting some beautiful baubles to send to an MBU and raising nearly £1,000.
Rich Baish organised a fabulous quiz and disco in Witney at the end of November. Rich was the quizmaster extraordinaire and a fantastic time was had by all, with over £1,000 raised for APP on the night. Thanks to all who supported this event.
2026 Challenge Events
Events next year are already filling up - we have places on offer in events including the iconic Great North Run, Manchester Marathon, Edinburgh Marathon, Hackney Half and so many more - whatever your running level and wherever you are in the country, we’ll find the right event for you, so if your new years resolution is going to be to take on a challenge - let us know or check out our challenge page for more inspiration.
We’re hoping 2026 will be a big year for Miles for Mums and Babies challenges too! It’s never too early to start planning your own personal challenge for next year - maybe you want to run a mile a day in May, get a team together to conquer a local hike, or take on a wild swimming adventure - we’d love to support whatever you are thinking about.
Shop online and raise funds for APP
Whether it’s last minute gift shopping, the big Christmas food shop, or treating yourself in the January sales, if you register with easyfundraising, every purchase you make could help support APP, at no additional cost. There are more than 8000 retailers to choose from, including John Lewis, Argos, Tesco, Amazon, Boots, M&S, Etsy, Lego and so many more.
Plus, this week APP could WIN a £1,000 donation prize in easyfundraising's giveaway! We get a FREE entry each time a new supporter signs up before the 21st December. It only takes a moment and it's completely free, so please get involved if you haven't already. Happy shopping!
In the media
Die My Love 2025 film poster
Members of the APP team have watched the powerful new film Die My Love which explores PP within a mix of broader perinatal mental health themes. Read their review of the film here.
The Detail featured an article on the need for a Mother and Baby Unit in Northern Ireland, including experiences shared by Stephanie and comment from APP’s Media Consultant Liz. APP fundraiser Ross and his wife Gemma supported the Northern Ireland MBU campaign by sharing their story with ITV news.
Megan shared her PP experience in the Mom Breaks podcast. The By Your Side podcast featured Abi’s PP experience and APP volunteer Chris Wasley joined the The MAMA Podcast to talk about PP from a partner’s perspective.
APP’s Development Manager, Rich, spoke to The Guardian about concerns that advice given by coroners in England and Wales to help prevent maternal deaths isn’t being acted upon. Rich was also interviewed by Greatest Hits Oxfordshire, calling for better mental health support for women and new mums.
If you would like to support awareness-raising of PP and APP, please get in touch for support and help with key messages.
Diary dates
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up, Friday 19th December
APP Black mums virtual café group meet up, Friday 19th December
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackpool, Friday 9th January
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 12th January
APP UK wide virtual café group meet up, Thursday 15th January
APP Black mums virtual café group meet up, Friday 16th January
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 16th January
APP Yorkshire face to face café group meet up in Sheffield, Saturday 17th January
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 17th January
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 21st January
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 21st January
APP Sussex and Hampshire face to face café group meet up in Winchester, Saturday 24th January
APP London virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 27th January
Contact information for all APP café groups is available here.
APP's Shaheda Akhtar will play a pivotal role in a ground-breaking new study that aims to transform postpartum mental health care for mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds or those living in deprived areas who experience severe mental illness.
The Improving Postpartum Outcomes of Severe Mental Illnesses in Ethnically Diverse Mothers (POSIE) project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a collaboration between several UK universities, including the University of Oxford, NHS Trusts and charities. It aims to identify practical ways to improve care for mothers experiencing serious mental illnesses such as severe depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis.
Suicide remains the leading cause of death among mothers in the first year after giving birth, while the number of new mothers seeking mental health support has risen sharply, increasing by 30% between 2022 and 2023.[1] Meanwhile, women from Black ethnic backgrounds are almost three times more likely to die in the year following childbirth compared to white mothers, and women from Asian backgrounds also face an increased risk.[2]
A particular focus for the research is the transition from hospital to community care, a period when many women lose contact with support services and face heightened risk.
Dr Roisin Mooney, co-lead investigator of the project at the University of Oxford, said: “Cultural and structural barriers can prevent women from receiving timely and appropriate mental health support, leaving many without access to effective treatment or follow-up care. By exploring why gaps in aftercare exist and how these differ across ethnic and social groups, this inclusive research seeks to inform new, equitable approaches to postpartum mental health care.”
Professor Kam Bhui, co-lead investigator also from Oxford, said: “The disparities between different groups highlight that current systems of care are not meeting the needs of all mothers. This exciting collaborative project aims to tackle this challenge and improve the prevention and management of severe mental illness following childbirth.”
The research team will use clinical data to investigate variations in care and outcomes, and will run workshops involving at least 120 women with lived experience of postpartum severe mental illness from Manchester, Sheffield, London and Oxford. From this data, they will design a new ‘culturally safe’ care pathway, which will be tested and evaluated at six sites across the country, before developing a toolkit and guidance to support its implementation.
Professor of Maternal and Infant Health at Sheffield Hallam University, Hora Soltani, is part of the POSIE project team and also leads the NIHR Inequalities Challenge: Maternity Disparities Consortium.
Professor Soltani said: “As lead for the perinatal mental health theme within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, I am delighted to be part of this very important project. Becoming a mother is often assumed to be a joyful and transformative experience, but for some women it can also be a period of significant vulnerability with poorer outcomes for underserved communities. This project aims to ensure that every mother, regardless of background, receives compassionate, effective, and culturally responsive support needed for recovery and long-term wellbeing. Perinatal mental health matters as its impact spans generations, making equity and inclusion a societal imperative.”
Shaheda Akhtar, a peer support facilitator from Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) and patient and public involvement (PPI) lead on the POSIE project, said: “We regularly hear from Black and Asian women who've had postpartum psychosis about delays in treatment and admission, that care and information did not feel appropriate to them, and they had difficulties finding information about this treatable medical emergency. Going to a Mother and Baby Unit can be quite frightening when you don't know anything about them. Our peer supporters help women to understand what they are experiencing and combat isolation and fear. At APP, we educate health professionals by sharing women’s powerful stories, but we know that they are crying out for evidence-based practical ways to improve care.”
Laura Kyrke-Smith MP is currently leading a private members bill though Parliament, which is calling for high-quality perinatal mental health assessments to be a routine part of antenatal care for all women in England. It has been named ‘Sophie’s Law’ in memory of Ms Kyrke-Smith’s friend who died by suicide following the death of her third child.
She said: “Research like the POSIE project is vital to addressing the unacceptable inequalities that continue to cost mothers their lives. We know that women from Black and Asian backgrounds face significantly higher risks of death following childbirth, and that the transition from hospital to community care is a particularly vulnerable period when too many women fall through the cracks.
"This research will help us understand why these disparities exist and, crucially, how we can design care pathways that work for all mothers, regardless of their background or postcode. Every mother deserves access to compassionate, culturally responsive mental health support when she needs it most.
"I welcome this collaboration and look forward to seeing how its findings can inform better practice across the NHS and help ensure no more families have to experience preventable tragedy."
This study is funded by the NIHR and in collaboration with the University of Oxford, King’s College London, University of Greenwich, University of Manchester, Sheffield Hallam University, University College London, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, The Light in Sheffield, 5XMORE, Policy Connect and The Mental Elf.
[2] MBRRACE-UK. Maternal mortality 2020-2022 | MBRRACE-UK | NPEU [Internet]. National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit: University of Oxford; 2024 Jan [cited 2024 Mar 19]. Available from: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/data-brief/maternal-mortality-2020-2022
‘I don’t know how we would have coped without APP. There was no one else to turn to.’
This festive season, we're on a mission to give the life changing, life saving, gift of peer support to even more families.
Between now and midday on 9th December, we're aiming to raise £10,000 - which could help us reach out to and support nearly 300 women and families affected by postpartum psychosis. We’d love you to help us.
Every donation we receive this week will be worth twice as much – if you donate £5, APP will receive £10, if you donate £25, we'll receive £50, and so on. Double the donation means double the impact.
‘Finding APP and getting support from another grandma who had been through something similar was like a big online hug. I felt heard, understood and supported right from the start.’
Quotes from 2025 APP Peer Support survey
Help us be there for everyone who needs us, for as long as they need us. Donate today if you can. Thank you.
Or perhaps 2026 is the year you take on an epic ultra walk challenge? APP is now registered with 
We have places available in the iconic 
Perhaps 2026 is the year you take on an epic ultra walk challenge? APP is now registered with 
