Action on Postpartum Psychosis | The national charity for mums and families affected by postpartum psychosis

21 February 2017

Team MBU Complete Half-Marathon for APP

A big congratulations and thank you to the team at Bethlem Royal Hospital Mother and Baby Unit who successfully completed the Hampton Court Half Marathon on 19 February 2017 and have raised over £2000 for APP!

What a fantastic achievement from everyone involved in helping to raise funds for APP, which also included a cake sale back in December last year.

They say: "We survived the run! Still keeping our JustGiving page open for this week for a final push for donations. We have raised over £2000!!!"

A special thanks to the runners of Team MBU and also to everyone who helped to raise awareness and achieve such a brilliant result!

Please visit their JustGiving page where you can still donate for this week.

20 February 2017

Ele's poems: Mental illness everywhere

Ele got in touch to share the powerful poem she wrote about her experiences suffering with PP in 2016.

She says "This is a follow-up I wrote...from a healthier perspective as a new rural vicar's wife one year on!"

Mental illness everywhere

Seems people wanna talk about it, make us aware.
See, the thing about it is it's not at all rare.
Who you are or what you do, it doesn't care.
It can happen to anyone, so just beware.
But to paint it all negatively wouldn't be fair.
After PPP I feel pretty self-aware.
In talking therapies I've laid my soul bare.
"So you pick your fingers, do you also pull at your hair?"
With the help of drugs and CBT I'm almost there.
So some more of my story I'm now happy to share.

This time a year ago I was walking on air.
Head in the clouds, from behind numb eyes I would stare.
Fixed on the clock - a day without visitors I couldn't bear.
Cut off from my baby and a whole world 'out there'.
As the umpteenth nurse asks me to pull up a chair.
To take blood pressure, measurements, and check me down there.
Transferred from place to place, sporting no footwear.
From room to room I'd run, desperate to escape the living nightmare.
I clung to hospital chaplains, I begged for prayer.
Why did this happen to me? It all seemed so unfair.
How do I get back to who I was before this warfare
Tore through my being, leaving me in disrepair?

Thirteen months on, I still need tender loving care.
However I'm thankful through it all I have a Shepherd without compare.
Guiding me, refining me, chiselling me into the 'pierre'
He made me to be - one of many small stones in a daily 'guerre'.
Each day is a battle for which I must prepare.
But with my hand in His, I know the future need not scare.

Here is Ele’s original poem written during her illness. She says "I think
it offers a good pre and post illness perspective"

Pillows pillows everywhere,
Under my boobs and under my tear!
Milk milk everywhere,
Showering my boy and sticking in my hair!
Poo poo everywhere,
In Pampers nappies but also mine down there!
Wee wee everywhere,
For the blue line and stray willy beware!
Mess mess everywhere,
Mummy and Daddy are tripping on the stair!
Pray pray everywhere,
Both with hearts full&when we're having a mare!
Damp damp everywhere,
Night sweats, boobs gushing...poor nursing chair!
Love love everywhere,
Overflowing for Joshua for whom we care...
Peace peace everywhere,
Sleep, trust, faith, freedom - O Lord hear my prayer!

7 February 2017

Personal Experiences of Talking About PP

APP's Peer Supporters and Volunteers hosted an hour-long chat on Twitter for Time To Talk day on 2 February 2017 around people's experience of stigma. The hour flew past, with lots of contributions and lively chat from different perspectives. We've gathered the best of the Tweets into this Storify and juggled them under topics to try and give a linear narrative. Enjoy, and please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and comments on Twitter with us @ActiononPP.

28 January 2017

Could You Be Our Next Treasurer?

We are looking for a Treasurer to join our board of Trustees and assist our award-wining small charity with robust financial management, planning and reporting.

The Treasurer will oversee the work of the Accountant and Book-keeper in partnership with the Director. They will be able to communicate the financial position to the other trustees and assist the organisation with risk management, forward planning. They will help create budgets for funding applications.

We also wish for the Treasurer to be a key player on our Trustee Board and interested in helping assist our organisation through a period of change and growth.

This is a volunteer role. Ideally we would like the Treasurer to be able to commit 1-2 days a month of their time for APP work and to be responsive on email. Our team is distributed across the UK so phone and Skype meetings are important. In addition, board meetings are held quarterly in January, April, July and October in Birmingham.

If you think you might be able to help us, please get in touch. Send us your CV and tell us a bit about yourself: lindsey@www.app-network.org

Download the role description here.

26 January 2017

Time To Talk About PP & Stigma

On Time to Talk Day we want to talk about PP & stigma - what are your experiences of talking to others about PP? Have you experienced stigma? What have people's reactions been like? Good, bad, supportive or strange - we'd like to hear.

Join APP’s peer supporters and lived experience volunteers live on Twitter on 2 February between 8-9pm and look out for hashtags #timetotalk #PPtalk #endPPmyths.

Can't join us? Email your stories to app@www.app-network.org or tweet @ActiononPP in advance.

Find out more about Time To Talk Day here.

11 January 2017

Val's story: "Menopausal psychosis was the final piece in the jigsaw".

My first episode of mental illness was in 1981 at the age of 22, which started on the first day of my honeymoon, not much fun for my new husband! I then had two subsequent periods of depression in my twenties and it was only many years later during a women’s therapy group in 2001 that I realised that I was perhaps bipolar. Due to my previous depressive episodes, I was extremely worried about suffering postnatal depression when I had a baby and this lead us to wait much longer than planned. Once we decided, I fell pregnant straight away but within weeks I was depressed again and was prescribed anti-depressants.

In July 1988 my son was born, 7 ½ weeks premature. I went into Puerperal Psychosis (now called Postpartum Psychosis) virtually the moment he was born. In my mind, I was to blame for his early arrival because I took anti-depressants during pregnancy, but that wasn’t the case - my son had a chest infection in the womb and mother nature decided he was better off out than in. My son was in special care for several weeks before he could come home. I was treated by Professor Brockington at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and he reassured my husband that I would get better.

I was given Electric Convulsive Therapy (ECT) which worked quickly but it sent me into a ‘high’ state and I then had to have a tranquillising injection. I continued to recover with prescribed medication and was probably well after about 6 months.

Having another child was a huge risk - I was told there was a 95% chance I would be ill again - but I couldn’t bear the thought of my son being an only child. With the support of a brilliant female GP I got through my second pregnancy without any depression and was reasonably well after the birth of my daughter in 1993. I did find that my mood was all over the place and was prescribed an anti-depressant, but thankfully I didn’t experience Postpartum Psychosis (PP) again.

Life went on and I continued to stay mostly well, although managing my bipolar tendency was an ongoing process. However, I was suffering from extremely heavy periods and I had a pioneering treatment called ‘endometrial resection’ in March 1997. This resulted in my having very little in the way of monthly bleeding and eventually nothing at all.

Then in 2002, quite unexpectedly, I was ill again. We missed all the signs this time and following several months of manic behaviour during which I decided that I wanted to become a vicar and exhibited various other erratic behaviour, this culminated in me not sleeping for a week and I became extremely unwell and plunged into a year-long very severe period of depression. My psychiatrist tried every anti-depressant going, including lithium and mood stabilisers and I had two cycles of ECT which didn’t work. Eventually a tricyclic anti-depressant started to work and I very slowly got back to normality but the experience of being ill ‘out of the blue’ again really shocked me to the core.

I tried to put all the traumatic experiences of my severe mental health episodes behind me and carried on with my life, although I can say that these experiences have profoundly changed me as a person and have affected the way that I have had to live my life.

In 2014 I came across Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP). This was a life-changing moment for me, because I discovered for the first time:

It wasn’t my fault when I had PP with my son
There were other women who had experienced the same thing
I was at quite high risk of having PP due to my history of recurrent depression, and a possible family history of mental illness

Through becoming involved with APP I discovered that there was some research that indicated that there was a 30-40% risk of a recurrent episode of psychosis in the perimenopause period, which is the run up to the actual menopause. It then became clear after discussions with several people at APP that I had experienced Menopausal Psychosis in 2002. I hadn’t realised that I was in the perimenopause as I hadn’t had any periods for years and so couldn’t spot that there were any changes in my monthly cycle.

My psychiatrist didn’t make a connection with my episode of PP and therefore I probably wasn’t treated for the correct thing. Unfortunately, there is very little research into the recurrence of psychosis in this time of a woman’s life and therefore there aren’t yet any clear treatments available.

There needs to be more research done so that treatments can be developed, possibly hormonally based, for these women, and it is very important that women who have previously had PP are made aware of the risks. Forewarned is forearmed in my mind.

Discovering that I had experienced Menopausal Psychosis in 2002 has been the final piece of my mental health jigsaw and it has helped very much to know what happened to me and why.

Val's story was featured on Woman's Hour in 2017.

For more information on postpartum psychosis and the menopause, please click here.

10 January 2017

Meet Our Amazing London Marathon Runner

For the first time, APP has been awarded a charity place in the London Marathon and we are thrilled to introduce you to our runner, Katie Dyer.

Please support and sponsor her here.

Katie is running in memory of her dear friend Alice Gibson-Watt who passed away following complications connected with Postpartum Psychosis. Her daughter, Chiara, was five weeks old. Here's her story, in her own words:

"I am a 37 year old Mother of a little boy and until 2012 I had no knowledge or awareness of Postpartum Psychosis. Despite being given information on Post Natal Depression during my pregnancy no one seemed to mention or discuss the possibility of this sudden and severe condition.

Alice and I had been friends since we were little. She was in fact my oldest friend, an unwavering constant in my life as we grew up together, and it was with much excitement that we awaited the birth of her daughter, Chiara in October 2012. I had given birth a year earlier and couldn’t wait to share the experience of Motherhood with her, as I had all the other important moments in our lives from travelling around the world to planning our weddings. Whilst I tentatively warned her about the need to rest and the impact of sleep deprivation, I never dreamt to mention post natal depression nor did I even know about the possibility of postnatal psychosis.

Four weeks after her daughter was born, Alice suffered a psychotic episode and further complications led to her passing away a week later leaving behind her devastated family, friends and a daughter who will never truly know just how wonderful her Mother was.

There is nothing positive about this situation or this mental illness. It is vicious, cruel and deeply unjust. On the morning I was told that Alice, my bright, beautiful, determined friend who had fought so hard to become a Mother, was in hospital with a bleak prognosis I felt an overwhelming urge to run. Running has a meditative quality that I discovered in my late 20s and I think has been essential to my own mental stability in times of stress. And so I ran that day trying to tell myself if would be OK. Unfortunately for Alice and those close to her; it was not.

However, in the spirit of Alice’s unquestionable strength and positivity, it is so important to remember that there is much to be done to ensure other families do not suffer in the same way. To this end, I am hugely honoured to be running the London Marathon for APP. The work they do to publicise, support and educate is vital to prevent further devastating losses and to provide essential life lines to sufferers and their families.

I will run in Alice’s name and all those who have suffered from this unjust and frightening condition."

You can support Katie's training and fundraising at her Virgin Money Giving page and save the date! The London Marathon is on 23rd April 2017 and we want as many APP supporters to be there to cheer her on as possible.

5 January 2017

Postpartum Psychosis & Menopause on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour

Professor Ian Jones and Val from APP discuss PP and menopausal relapse with Jenni Murray on today's Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. Listen again here on iPlayer.

The long-term outlook after an episode of PP tends to be very good and women recover fully. However, some women who have had PP will have further episodes of illness unrelated to childbirth.

Just over half of women with Postpartum Psychosis will experience an episode of depression, bipolar disorder or related illness at some point in their lifetime. (This estimate includes women with and without experience of mental illness before their PP episode, and so the risk may be lower for women whose PP episode was ‘out of the blue’.) For more information see our research on recurrence rates or view to our survey of recovery in APP members.

It has been suggested that some women who experience PP may be vulnerable to relapse at times of major hormonal fluctuation, such as during the perimenopause (the time from the onset of menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes and irregular periods, until the menopause itself).

A case series review of post-menopausal women with a history of PP, found that 30% reported an episode of illness (including depression or mania/psychosis) during the perimenopause. Strikingly, most women who relapsed during the perimenopause had been well during the years in between childbirth and the menopause. Further studies are needed to explore this potential risk period more fully and identify which women might be at risk of perimenopausal relapse. Women, their partners and families should be vigilant for signs of relapse during the perimenopause and seek help from their GP or mental health team should symptoms develop. For more information about relapse planning, see page 14 of our Insider Guide on Recovery after PP.

APP is here to support women and families who suffer illness episodes following their PP, no matter how many years have elapsed since the PP episode. If you would like to talk to others with similar experiences and concerns, please visit our peer support forum or request email support. We are campaigning and conducting research to improve understanding of this illness. If you would like to help us, or to find out more about current studies, please get in touch.

20 December 2016

Triathletes Take On Xmas Mincepie Cycle

On Sunday 18th December Meynell Valley Hunters Triathlon Club (MVH) organised a Xmas Mincepie Cycle for charity and APP was the lucky recipient of a share of the proceeds, £160.00 in total.

Warm thanks go to Robin Barber (pictured in his arresting Xmas jumper!) and a wonderful group of Tri Club members who made cakes and mince pies and helped to serve out teas during an extremely successful morning. Robin managed to whip up some amazing support from neighbouring Tri clubs and Heather Heron organised an APP information desk.

Warm thanks from us all at APP go to a truly charitable club who have already supported APP in a number of events this past year - including their Annual Xmas Dinner Raffle which raised another £150! - and especially to Robin who has initiated such a willing charity drive for APP within the club.

16 December 2016

Hannah attends #HopeDec09 for APP

It was amazing to be at the House of Commons last week for the #HopeDec09 event, organised by obstetrician, Raja Gangopadhay, and attended by around 150 others with an interest, passion or professional role in perinatal mental health.

APP’s Chair, Giles Berrisford, opened proceedings in his role of Associate National Clinical Director PMH, reporting that things do seem to be changing and there is more awareness and profile than ever before, but of course, there is so much more to do.

It is always inspiring to hear Alain Gregoire of the MMHA speak and his words about maternal mental health and its far-reaching consequences being “the most important issue for humanity today” was really great to hear.

I wish there had been more time to talk about APP and the amazing peer support it offers, together with our pilot Regional Reps work to spread awareness of the organisation and that PP can affect anyone, as it did me. This slide said a lot for me: "Full Recovery is Possible. Please seek help early. No-one is immune."

The event focused on the importance of addressing mental health conditions during pregnancy and beyond and we heard from a diverse range of those with “lived experience” – it is so important to share these stories. PP and schizophrenia were powerfully presented by artist, Sanchita Islam and PND movingly by Lindsay Robinson of haveyouseenthatgirl.com and Mark Williams of Fathers Reaching Out Wales.

Antoinette Sandbach MP also had a number of people in tears as she spoke emotively about her experience of bereavement and the effect that this can have on women and families. The heads that nodded along (including my own), as if to say “me too” at various times during all of the speeches was really amazing to see.

It was fantastic that the whole of the UK and beyond was represented in the room, with people standing up to talk about changes in Scotland and the ongoing campaign for a Mother & Baby Unit in Wales. Lindsay had also spoken of changes she is working towards in Northern Ireland. As a proud Yorkshire lass, I enjoyed meeting up with others from the north – it is sometimes easy for us to be forgotten in the blur of all things perinatal and activity that naturally often centres on London and the other big cities. I had great conversations with another peer support organisation Raindrops to Rainbows, who are based in the north-east and supporting women and families affected by PND, so there may be ways for us to link in in the future. Our chats continued on the train north at the end of a long, exciting and inspirational day.

Words from representatives of the Royal Colleges of GPs and Midwives together with a former Royal Obstetrician and a response from the Duchess of Cornwall which was read to the room showed that the event had a really high profile. Together with those from the media and a range of organisations I hope that this really gave the event some clout to effect real change. I hear that it trended on Twitter throughout the day – surely the mark of success!

Hannah Bissett is APP's Assistant Peer Support Coordinator.

Mental illness everywhere

Cookies