APP November newsletter
November 2023 newsletter
Northern Ireland Mother and Baby Unit news
We are delighted with the news this week that Belfast Trust has been chosen as the site of a Northern Ireland Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). APP would like to thank Oorlagh Quinn, our NI Regional Rep, and all the families who have bravely shared stories to show why an MBU is so important.
But we are not there yet – there has been no funding allocated, no timeline given and no plans for women who develop PP before an MBU is open. You can read APP's full statement here.
APP staff and storytellers Laura, Tara, Liz and Ellie have been in the press raising awareness and responding to the announcement.
In October 2022 we worked with the Women's Resource and Development Agency to present an open letter to then Health Minister Robin Swann, signed by 40 mental health and parenting organisations, calling for an MBU, as well as a public petition with almost 7,000 signatures.
The next UK-wide café group meeting will be on Thursday 7th December at 7.30pm. We have seen lots of interest in this group – thank you to everyone who has attended so far. To find out more or sign up, email app@app-network.org.
The next café group for Muslim women who have experienced PP will be on 5th December, starting at 12.30pm. To sign up email us: app@app-network.org.
Our 10 regional café groups continue to meet regularly, both virtually and face-to-face. The groups are attended both by those newly recovering from PP and those who have recovered many years ago. If you are interested in joining any of the groups – in Manchester, Wales, Sussex & Hampshire, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Yorkshire, North East & North Cumbria, Lancashire & Cumbria, Birmingham and London - please email app@app-network.org.
The dads and co-parents group meets on the third Wednesday of every month (apart from December) and is for people who have supported a partner through PP. Our grandparents group meets approximately six times a year. If you would like to be on the mailing list for either of these groups, please email app@app-network.org.
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our 2023 peer support survey.
The results show APP’s peer support service continues to be life-saving and an essential ingredient in recovery.
Respondents accessed our peer support for a variety of reasons: 82% had experienced postpartum psychosis (PP), 16% were a partner or family member of someone who had experienced PP, 2% were at risk of PP or ‘other reason’.
The most common reasons for accessing APP’s peer support services were: looking for help and support (66%), wanting to connect with others with similar experiences (62%), and wanting to join a community of women and families with experience of PP (53%).
For respondents for whom the question was relevant, since finding APP:
- 99% felt more supported
- 96% felt less isolated
- 97% felt more informed about PP
- 87% felt less negative about PP
- 94% felt more hopeful about the future and 97% felt that APP had helped, or was helping, them to recover.
- 46% felt they ‘might not be alive if I had not found APP's peer support services’.
“The support APP provides is life saving and life changing. APP’s service means community to me - from picnics, to fundraising events to cafe groups I’ve always felt included. All staff and volunteers inspire me every day - keep doing the amazing work you do APP!”
“As a partner, being able to utilise the forums and, in particular, use the virtual cafe to chat to other Dads has been brilliant and made me feel much happier and positive about the future. I think,
especially so far as mums are concerned, that sometimes there isn't anyone to turn to and having the option of a dedicated service for PPP where you can talk to people that have lived and breathed it could literally be a life saver during the recovery phase.”
We added new questions this year about the symptoms people experienced in relation to their episode of PP.
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Additional questions were also included to find out more about difficulties people have with practical and legal issues because of PP. We will be working with a specialist to follow up these findings and explore the need for specialist support and advice around such issues.
Health professional training: book for 2024!
Book now for APP’s future health professional training days. Our workshops are highly rated by attendees, with 100% rating them as excellent/good and 100% saying they would recommend them to colleagues:
"Really brilliant session. Balanced, informed, inspiring, emotional. So raw and real and yet very professional and contained. Best training I've attended in a very long time.”
Supporting dads and co-parents affected by postpartum psychosis
This online workshop is informed by real life experiences of dads and co-parents whose partners have experienced postpartum psychosis. At the end of the workshop, you will be aware of the research on partners; have a deep understanding of the needs of dads and co-parents; and have considered strategies and interventions to improve support.
Friday 8th March 2024 / Zoom
10am – 12.30pm BST
£99
Find out more & book.
Insider Guides translated into 5 languages
All three APP Insider Guides – Recovery after PP; PP: a Guide for Partners; and Planning Pregnancy after PP – are now available in Arabic, Bengali, Polish, Slovak and Urdu on our website.
We’d like to thank Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust for funding the translation work.
APP is continually seeking ways to translate our guides into multiple languages to ensure the information in them is accessible to everyone who needs it. If you would like to help us, please get in touch.
APP is recruiting casual Peer Support Worker(s) to join our innovative collaborative project with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT).
We’re looking for people with lived experience of postpartum psychosis to help support women, one-to-one and through small group activities, at the MBU. Peer Support Workers also spend time talking to partners and families, sharing information, giving hope and signposting to APP’s online support, community forum, and information. Part of the role will be spent helping to run monthly café groups in the region. You don’t need to have experience of peer supporting. Training will be provided.
Full details of how to apply for the role are on our website. The application deadline is midnight on 26th November 2023.
It’s International Volunteer Day on Tuesday 5th December and we would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who volunteers for APP.
Our volunteers make a huge contribution to our work and we couldn’t do what we do without them.
Peer Support volunteers connect with women and families throughout the UK via our forum; social media; one to one email, video call and telephone support; our NHS partnership projects and regional café groups.
Media volunteers help to raise awareness of postpartum psychosis, our charity and our campaigns by telling their stories in the press, on social media websites, television and radio.
Regional Reps connect with health professional teams locally, disseminating information, support patient involvement in developing NHS services and giving lived experience talks.
Fundraising volunteers plan events and come up with fundraising ideas to support our work.
If you would like to learn more about volunteering for APP you can find out how to get involved here.
Thank you to everyone who donated as part of our Big Give campaign last month. We were delighted to reach our target of £5000 in just one week! This will go towards our work supporting women and families from diverse communities. Look out for more ‘double your donation’ opportunities in 2024.
Thank you, Laura! A massive thank you to Laura Walton from Darlington, who ran 50 miles during October, raising over £700 for APP! Laura also generously shared her own experiences of postpartum psychosis with us to help raise awareness. You can read more about her story here. Laura completed her amazing challenge with a fabulous purple party for family and friends! Thank you, Laura!
Inspired by the amazing looking cakes at Laura’s party? Why not get your friends, family, or colleagues together this winter for a festive afternoon tea, a mince pie bake off or a Christmas Cake decorating competition? Get your FREE festive Big Bake pack (including the APP team's favourite recipes!) by emailing fundraising@app-network.org
We can't wait to hear about what you have planned! www.app-network.org/get-involved-with-app/fundraise-for-us/the-big-bake/
Festive cards
If you're looking for Christmas or Hanukkah cards... Buy your cards this year from www.bit.ly/APPcards and APP will receive a donation with every purchase, plus each card helps raise awareness of PP. There are hundreds of designs to choose from, including these images exclusively designed for APP by our supporter Gillian Seale. You can add photos, personalised messages and even games. Choose individual cards, packs of cards or e-cards - and send them directly to the recipient or to yourself. Thank you!
Christmas shopping
Don’t forget to sign up to use easyfundraising when you do your Christmas online shopping this year. Over 7,500 brands including eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos and M&S will donate to APP for FREE when you use easyfundraising to shop with them. So you can raise donations for us when you buy anything from decorations and festive food shopping to gifts like toys, jewellery, tech, experiences and more! These donations really help us. It only takes a minute to sign up: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/actiononpp
Looking for a new challenge in 2024?
We have access to hundreds of running events from fun family friendly 5ks to full marathons here in the UK and even overseas! We already have people signed up for the London Landmarks, Brighton Marathon, Paris Half and of course the APP team taking part in the Manchester Colour Rush event… and we’d love for you to join our running team! Find out more here: www.app-network.org/get-involved-with-app/take-on-a-challenge-to-fundraise-for-app
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 18th November: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Yorkshire face to face café group meet up in Leeds, Saturday 18th November: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Scotland virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 21st November: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Black Country face to face café group meet up in Walsall, Tuesday 28th November: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Sussex and Hampshire virtual café group meet up, Thursday 30th November: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Muslim women’s virtual café group meet up, Monday 4th December: APP regional café groups webpage
International Volunteer Day, Tuesday 5th December
APP UK-wide virtual café group meet up, Thursday 7th December: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up, Friday 8th December: APP regional café groups webpage
APP Book Club virtual meeting, Wednesday 13th March 2024. Discussing Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood by Lucy Jones. Book your free place here.