All posts by Andrea

Statement: From current and past presidents, Royal College of Psychiatrists, on launch of Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Everyone’s Business campaign

Current and Past Presidents of the Royal College of Psychiatrists come together to highlight Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Call to A.C.T. - call postcode lottery of services ‘a disgrace’.

The current and past Presidents of the Royal College of Psychiatrists today jointly welcomed the launch of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Everyone’s Business campaign and their Call to A.C.T. Professor Sir Simon Wessely (President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists) and Professor Dame Sue Bailey (Chair of the Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Coalition (CYPMHC) and Immediate Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists) said:

“It is a disgrace that although one in ten mothers will develop a mental illness either during or in the first year after pregnancy, half of the women in the UK do not have access to specialist community perinatal mental health services. The current postcode lottery of provision means women are left to suffer, families risk breakdown, children suffer and society suffers. It is frankly unacceptable that suicide is one of the leading causes of death for women during pregnancy and one year after birth.

“We wholeheartedly welcome the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Everyone’s Business campaign which calls for Accountability for perinatal mental health care to be clearly set at a national level and complied with, for Community specialist perinatal mental health services meeting national quality standards to be available for women in every area of the UK and for Training in perinatal mental health to be delivered to all professionals involved in the care of women during pregnancy and the first year after birth.

“We are pleased that the RCPsych Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry was able to assist the Alliance with its mapping of current services, and we will lend whatever advice or support is needed by those at the helm of health policy in the four nations for them to act to address this iniquitous and unjustifiable variability which penalises women – wives, partners, daughters and friends - at their most vulnerable. By improving the health (and there is no health without mental health) of any woman you improve the lives of their children, generations of children to come, and it leads to more flourishing communities.”

#everyonesbusiness Campaign Launched Today

Pregnant women and new mothers across almost half of the UK do not have access to specialist perinatal mental health services, potentially leaving them and their babies at risk, according to data released today (8 July).

Maps highlighting the gaps in provision are published today by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance to mark the launch of its everyonesbusiness campaign.

The Alliance of professional bodies, patient organisations and charities, is warning that women who develop a perinatal mental illness are missing out on essential and potentially lifesaving care. (more…)

World First: Highest number of women with lived experience of Postpartum Psychosis come together under one roof!

On Saturday 26th April 2014, The Barberry in Birmingham was once again home to another fantastic APP event. The Volunteer Event gave thirty women who have experienced   Postpartum Psychosis and their families a chance to join together to talk about the future of the illness and the charity. 

Following the event we received many messages from attendees expressing how much meeting other PP women face to face meant to them and how much they got from the day on so many levels. Here’s one of them: 

"I wanted to drop you all a few quick lines to say simply "Thank You!" for last Saturday at the Barberry. It was the first time I had attended an APP event & most importantly for me, the very first time I had met another living, breathing mother who had also experienced Postpartum Psychosis!! I now truly understand I have not been alone in this long old journey & this was an incredible feeling, very special indeed. I want each of you to realise that what you have achieved so far is worth every single minute & hour of effort that I understand must go into running that kind of Workshop. Thank you so very much." ~ E.G.

On her blog 'Bumps and Grind', Kathryn writes about coming along to the Volunteers Event & also her experience of receiving support via our PPTalk online forum.

Kathryn's blog: 'Bumps and Grind: PP Survivors United'>>

University of Adelaide researchers have found that women on antidepressants are more successful at breastfeeding their babies if they keep taking the medication, compared with women who quit antidepressants because of concerns about their babies' health.

These results have just been presented this week at the 18th Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) Annual Conference in Perth. Using data from the Danish National Birth Cohort in Denmark, researchers in the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute studied the outcomes of 368 women who were on antidepressants prior to becoming pregnant.

"We found that two thirds of the women (67%) stopped taking their antidepressant medication either after becoming pregnant or during breastfeeding," says Dr Luke Grzeskowiak from the Robinson Research Institute.

"A third of the women (33%) continued to take antidepressant medication throughout their pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and these women were much more successful at maintaining breastfeeding up to and beyond the recommended six months.

"In contrast, those women who had stopped taking antidepressants were also more likely to stop breastfeeding within the recommended six months."

Dr Grzeskowiak says the health benefits of continued breastfeeding greatly outweigh any perceived risk to the baby from antidepressant medication.

“This is a really important message ... on the balance of it, we believe that continuing to take antidepressant medication and maintaining regular breastfeeding will be the best outcome for both the baby and the mother”

"This is a really important message because we know that breastfeeding has immense benefits for the child and the mum herself, including a degree of protection against post-natal depression," he says.

"The amount of antidepressant medication that finds its way into a mother's breast milk is very low. On the balance of it, we believe that continuing to take antidepressant medication and maintaining regular breastfeeding will be the best outcome for both the baby and the mother."

Dr Grzeskowiak says many women struggle with decisions about what to do with medications both during pregnancy and lactation.

"If they're taking antidepressants, they should be supported and encouraged by family members, friends and healthcare professionals to continue with their medication, knowing that good breastfeeding outcomes are all-important for them and their child," he says.

This research was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation.