APP July 2026 Newsletter
Your voice matters: share your experience of APP’s peer support services
If you have accessed APP’s peer support services, please tell us what you think by completing our survey.
The survey will take around 15 minutes to fill in. It is open to anyone who has used APP's peer support service (whether that is the online forum, café groups, one to one support via email, video/phone call or face-to-face, creative or wellbeing groups, or had any other contact with an APP peer support volunteer or staff member). We would also like to hear from volunteers who have delivered peer support.
Your responses will help us improve APP’s peer support and report to our funders on the importance of our work. If you have used our service this year, please complete the survey and help us demonstrate how many people our service is reaching.
The survey can be completed anonymously and is confidential. Any comments you wish to add will also remain anonymous, but might be used as quotes in our reports.
You can respond to our survey here.
Free APP webinar: book your place for ‘essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide’
On Wednesday 14th October, APP will be hosting the Alex Baish Memorial Webinar for frontline health professionals working with families in the perinatal period.
This free webinar is open to all health professionals, including GPs, midwives, antenatal educators, health visitors and ambulance and emergency department staff. It will outline the actions needed to support and protect women who develop postpartum psychosis.
APP experts, families with lived experience and clinicians will highlight the early signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis and discuss how frontline health professionals can work with perinatal mental health teams to help prevent maternal suicides.
This will be the fourth in the webinar series. Nearly 10,000 health professionals have watched our webinars in previous years. Of attendees, 92% rated the training as ‘excellent’, 8% rated it ‘good’ and 100% agreed they would change their practice as a result.
You can register for your free place here.
Please share the details with colleagues and encourage them to join this important session on preventing maternal suicide. You can download and print a copy of the webinar poster here, or please email us: app@app-network.org to request a copy of the poster free of charge.
Join our first dads and co-parents in-person meet up
I didn't know anyone else had been through this.
We hear this from dads and co-parents all the time. If your partner has experienced postpartum psychosis, you don't have to figure it all out alone.
Simon and Chris are holding our first dads & co-parents in-person meet-up on Saturday 19th September at 11.30am, meeting in London’s Trafalgar Square.
We'll walk together to Seven Dials Market (a Street Food Hall in Covent Garden), for relaxed conversations with people who actually get it. You might be interested in meeting other dads and co-parents, be considering joining APP as a volunteer to use your experience to improve the future for others in the same position, or you might want to show solidarity with other dads and co-parents going through PP going through it – you are all welcome.
The first round's on us, and we can help with travel and childcare costs if needed. Kids are welcome.
Thinking of coming? Email simon@app-network.org or book here. We'll send you a reminder closer to the day. And no worries if plans change at the last minute, just join us if you can.
Maternity and Neonatal Investigation: APP’s response
Following the publication of the Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (the Amos Report), APP welcomes the report’s recognition of the impact of under-investment in perinatal mental health services.
We thank all the families who shared their experiences and engaged with the inquiry.
We will continue to call for “parity of esteem” between mental and physical health care in maternity, so that severe postnatal mental illness is treated as a central, not peripheral consideration in maternity safety systems, and for Mother and Baby Units to be recognised as critical maternity safety infrastructure.
You can read our submission to the Enquiry here and our full response to the report here.
Working together to improve maternity and neonatal care
On Wednesday 10th June, Action on Postpartum Psychosis was proud to stand alongside more than 100 voluntary sector organisations as part of the National Maternity and Neonatal Collective meeting with the Department of Health in London, convened by Make Birth Better. For several months we have been working together to ensure that the voices of families, communities and frontline organisations shape the future of maternity and neonatal care.
Representatives from the National Maternity and Neonatal Collective met with ministers and senior officials to present our shared priorities and solutions. Together, we outlined not only our recommendations, but also the practical steps needed to deliver them and the positive impact they would have on the experiences and outcomes of women, babies and families.
As part of the Collective, we joined a working session chaired by Nikki Wilson from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) to discuss the perinatal mental health priorities and practical solutions that have been developed collaboratively across the sector. The fact that more than 100 organisations have reached agreement on these proposals sends a powerful message: there is strong consensus about what needs to change.
Previous reviews have already identified many of the changes that are needed, and there are practical improvements that could be implemented immediately, alongside the longer-term systemic reforms required through the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.
Discussions highlighted several key priorities, including the urgent need for mandatory anti-racism and cultural safety education across all maternity settings. The Collective also called for maternity policy, service design and delivery to better reflect the needs of Black, Brown and marginalised communities, ensuring that those with lived experience help shape the solutions.
Action on Postpartum Psychosis was represented at the meeting by Rachel and Shaheda, contributing our expertise in perinatal mental health and sharing the experiences of the families we support every day.
For APP, the urgency of this work cannot be overstated. We hear from families whose lives have been profoundly affected by preventable harm. We know that many of these outcomes could have been different. The recommendations put forward by the Collective have the potential to save lives, improve experiences and create safer, more equitable maternity care for everyone. It is essential that they are implemented without delay.
We remain committed to being constructive partners in this work, supporting improvement, challenging where necessary, and holding systems to account to ensure meaningful change for the families who urgently need it.
We would also like to extend our thanks to Laura-Rose Thorogood and the team at Make Birth Better for bringing together such a diverse and compassionate coalition of organisations. Their inclusive leadership has enabled the voluntary sector to speak with one clear, united voice.
Together, we will continue to campaign for action and work towards a maternity and neonatal system where every woman, baby and family receives safe, compassionate and equitable care.
The National Maternity and Neonatal Collective's full response and proposals for the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation are available on the Make Birth Better website.
Could you pledge your support for our festive fundraising campaign?
APP has the opportunity to be part of the Big Give Christmas challenge again this year, however we need to find supporters to pledge £2,500 in matched funds to enable us to take part.
Your donation will be worth three times as much as you give! You could pledge the full amount of £2,500 or a part of the total. It will be matched once by the Big Give, and then also by our supporters as part of our campaign in December. Pledges need to be received by mid August, but would not need to be paid until early January 2027.
If you, your business, or anyone you know might be interested in supporting APP in this very effective way, please do get in touch with Fliss for a quick chat - we'd love to hear from you. Thank you.
Take part in Advance Choice Documents research
APP are working with a team at Kings College London, to investigate whether a planning tool called an Advance Choice Document, can be adapted for use in the perinatal period. The tool helps you outline your wishes for care, so you have a chance to say what you would like to happen, if you become unwell.
Have you had a severe mental illness while pregnant or after giving birth?
Sharing your experience could help improve future mental health support for pregnant women.
We are inviting women who have been in hospital under the Mental Health Act (‘a section’) while pregnant or in the two years after giving birth to participate in our research exploring how a new mental health crisis planning tool, called an Advance Choice Document (ACD), can be used in perinatal mental health services.
Participation involves a one-hour interview, and you will receive a £25 voucher in appreciation of your contribution.
Please follow this link to find out more or email Margaret.Thurer@kcl.ac.uk
New peer support volunteers
A warm welcome to our eight new peer support volunteers (pictured above), who joined members of the APP team for a training day in London at the end of June.
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.
New peer supporters Bobbie and Ana, who have joined APP’s peer support team in the North West region, also attended the training, which was delivered by Clare Foster with input from APP’s Jess, Ellie, Jenny and Jocelyn. APP's Jessie who also attended, put together this lovely video capturing moments from the day.
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!
Motivational Mums Club campaign reaches more than one million views
Ask a mum you love: “How are you today?” It could mean more than you know. – APP's Shaheda Akhtar
We’re proud to have partnered with Motivational Mums Club on their powerful 'How Are You Today?' campaign. The campaign, which launched during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, features films with APP's CEO Dr Jess Heron and Peer Support Worker Rachel Rollins.
In the films, Rachel shares her experience of postpartum psychosis and her recovery journey that led her to become a peer support worker and, in her own words, ‘being the light at the end of the tunnel’ for women who didn’t believe there was any. Jess talks about postpartum psychosis and the reality of perinatal mental illness for Black women and the actions APP are taking to make a difference.
After attending a private screening of the films, Shaheda said, 'Here are real, raw, unfiltered stories from amazing women; shared with such bravery and honesty. Everyone was blown away, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.'
Since launching, the campaign has reached an incredible audience, with more than one million views across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The campaign has now expanded beyond social media, with billboard advertising launching at Bluewater in Dartford.
Congratulations and thank you to Christina Brown (pictured with the billboard at Bluewater), the Motivational Mums Club team, and everyone involved in the campaign.
Spring North Awards
APP’s Jocelyn and Eli (pictured above) attended the Spring North VCFSE awards, after our Lancashire and South Cumbria project, including Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit, was shortlisted in the Impact category.
We didn’t win the overall award but we’re delighted to share a new video highlighting our work.
Find out more about how APP works with NHS Trusts here. You can read more about the Spring North awards here.
Baby Brain review
Baby Brain is a new play about motherhood, giving birth and postpartum psychosis. It stars BAFTA winner Kimberley Nixon (C4’s Fresh Meat, Wild Child), and is currently touring the UK on its way to the Edinburgh Fringe. You can read about APP's support of the play here.
APP's Chief Executive Dr Jess Heron saw the play at the end of May:
Set in the mind of a mother experiencing postpartum psychosis on a Mother and Baby Unit, Baby Brain is raw, funny, uneasy and beautifully messy. It captures something of the confusion, fear, absurdity, intrusions, comedy and tragedy that accompany postpartum psychosis. Critics have described the play as "an act of advocacy, empathy, and artistic courage." I would certainly agree. With humour, honesty and compassion, it brings an understanding of postpartum psychosis to new audiences.
Baby Brain will be on at the Camden Festival in London from 10th-12th August and at the Edinburgh Fringe from 21st -30th August.
A note for our lived experience community: Some people may find the content challenging, depending on where you are in your postpartum psychosis journey. Please take care when deciding whether and when to engage with this play. If you’d like to find out more about the themes or access support, please get in touch with us.
APP at the Muslim Mental Health Summit
APP’s Shaheda Akhtar (pictured above) attended the @muslimcounciluk Muslim Mental Health Summit in July.
About the Summit, Shaheda said:
With over 400 attendees including health care professionals, therapists, counsellors, imams, community leaders it was a fantastic day. Everyone gathered in one place with a shared ambition to improve mental wellbeing in our communities. Honest conversations about the issues impacting Muslims in the UK that have knock on effects on our mental health.
I was so proud to be amongst some incredible organisations sharing their work, services, stories and achievements. Being able to showcase the amazing work we do at Action on Postpartum Psychosis @actiononpp and in particular talk about our Muslim Mums online support group was amazing. Postpartum psychosis is seldom talked about in the Muslim community and many attendees confided they had never heard of it.
You can read more from Shaheda here.
Adam’s Ultra for APP
This weekend dad Adam will be taking on a gruelling 54km ultra marathon around the Yorkshire Wolds. Adam’s wife Lizzy developed PP just four days after the birth of their baby. Lizzy and Adam have shared their story and helped to raise so much awareness of PP. Lizzy is also now a peer supporter, helping other mums affected by PP.
Adam has chosen to take on this huge challenge in the height of summer to raise much needed funds for APP, so please do add your support for him here.
Visit the ‘This is Also Motherhood’ exhibition in London
This is Also Motherhood: Portraits of mental health, strength and survival is being exhibited at Photofusion in Brixton, South London until 1st August. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) and created by award-winning artist Carolyn Mendelsohn. You can read more about the project here. APP Ambassador Catherine Cho features as part of this exhibition. You can read more and find details of the venue here.
Catherine Cho has also shared about her experience of postpartum psychosis and motherhood in Stylist (please note this article has a paywall).
New stories and media coverage
Read personal stories from the APP community, including Romy’s story, ‘It was a bumpy road, but becoming a mummy is the best thing that ever happened to me’, and Rachel's story, ‘When my midwife commented on how much I was doing, I realised there could be something wrong’.
APP fundraiser Olivia Tate-Brown highlighted the importance of Mother and Baby Units in the News and Star newspaper in Cumbria.
APP peer support worker Rachel’s 84 mile run between two Mother and Baby Units was featured on InYourArea, the Burnley Express, The Lancashire Post, Yahoo News and on the front cover of Clitheroe Advertiser and Times (pictured).
The Chester Standard highlighted APP’s new café group for families in Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.
Thank you to our community for sharing your stories and helping us raise awareness of postpartum psychosis, Mother and Baby Units and APP’s support.
Fabulous fundraisers
A huge well done to Frankie (pictured above) who recently completed a massive challenge - fell running all 30 peaks in the Yorkshire Dales. This has been a challenge years in the making, and she chose to raise funds for APP as she completed the final summit after having experienced postpartum psychosis after the birth of her first baby. She's now written about her experiences for FellRunner magazine. Read more about this epic adventure here.
If you would like to support Frankie, you can do so through her JustGiving page.
Fantastic fundraisers Rachel and James were shortlisted in the Fundraising Champion category Emma Award for their incredible 84 mile MBU to MBU run recently. They were up against some very tough competition in their category (including fundraisers from Macmillan, Muscular Dystrophy UK, Global's Make Some Noise and The Tim Henman Foundation) and sadly they didn't win, but even to be shortlisted was an amazing achievement and Rachel enjoyed a special evening at the awards ceremony in London.
APP Trustee Tracey Robinson writes:
Thank you to everybody who supported me for my one mile swim in Lake Windermere for Action on Postpartum Psychosis as part of The Great North Swim. I'm happy to update that I made it in 54 minutes.
It was a great event with many other swimmers and a supportive atmosphere. I really enjoyed the challenge of the swim in such beautiful scenery. The lake was choppy but didn't feel too cold at 16C.
Best of all, I raised £720 for this amazing charity, so thank you to all who contributed so generously.
There is still time to show your support for Tracey as her page is still open if you would like to contribute.
Thanks also to Martin who took on a 100km cycle ride with a team from East Yorkshire CTC on one of the hottest days of the year - raising nearly £500; Alice & Lucy who ran the Bristol Inflatable course for APP and raised more than £1,000. And good luck to Ruth who is in the midst of a 71 mile Miles for Mums and Babies challenge at the moment!
Lots of exciting events coming up in the autumn and 2027 if you’re looking for your next challenge! Find out more here.
Maternity & Midwifery Forum Hour
In June, APP was invited to talk on the Maternity & Midwifery Forum Hour, which is broadcast live every Wednesday 7-8pm. The hour is aimed at students and maternity professionals.
Hosted by Sue Macdonald (Chair and Curator Midwifery Festival Conferences & Maternity & Midwifery Hour), the session saw APP staff Sally Wilson and Jenny Sevenson share their experiences of postpartum psychosis, alongside what is known about the illness, how to recognise it, and how families can be supported.
The episode has already been watched by more than 2,000 people. Thank you to the Maternity & Midwifery Hour for hosting APP and helping to raise awareness of PP amongst midwifery professionals.
Dates for your diary
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Thursday 30th July
At The Forefront - Breaking the silence on postpartum psychosis. APP Chief Executive Dr Jess Heron in conversation with The Fore CEO Mary Rose Gunn, Friday 31st July, 1.00pm-1.45pm. Reserve your online place here.
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up in Stockport, Friday 31st July
APP North West virtual café group meet up, Monday 10th August
APP Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales face to face café group meet up in Chester, Thursday 20th August
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up in Stockport, Friday 21st August
APP Northern Ireland virtual café group meet up, Thursday 3rd September
World Suicide Prevention Day, Thursday 10th September
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 12th September
APP dads and co-parents face to face café group meet up in London, Saturday 19th September
APP grandparents virtual café group meet up, Monday 21st September
Black Maternal Mental Health Week, Monday 21st - Sunday 27th September
APP virtual peer support group - mental health difficulties after postpartum psychosis, Wednesday 30th September
APP webinar 2026: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide, Wednesday 14th October
Conferences and events
MBRRACE-UK virtual conferences, Thursday 10th September and Thursday 8th October
Two one-day events for any health professionals involved in the delivery of maternity and neonatal care, as well as interested members of the public.
Presenting the MBRRACE-UK 'Saving Lives, Improving Mothers' Care' Report 2026 on Thursday 10th September.
Presenting the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Reports 2026 on Thursday 8th October 2026.
More information and sign up online here.
Perinatal Mental Health Digital Conference, Tuesday 22nd September
Online conference exploring key recommendations and the latest developments in perinatal mental health. More details and booking here.
APP webinar 2026: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide, Wednesday 14th October
Free webinar for health professionals working with families in the perinatal period. APP experts, families with lived experience and clinicians will highlight the early signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis and discuss how frontline health professionals can work with perinatal mental health teams to help prevent maternal suicides.
Register to attend here.
If you would like to advertise your event here, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.