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

10 October 2024

Your donation, doubled!

This World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2024, we're on a mission to support even more women and families affected by postpartum psychosis, and we'd love you to help us. Between midday on 10th October and midday on 17th October, we're aiming to raise £5,000.

Donate now through our Big Give Women & Girls campaign page , and your donation will be doubled, at no additional cost to you, thanks to match funding from the Big Give.

Every donation we receive 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.

Our target of £5,000 could help us significantly increase our offer of help and support for families affected by postpartum psychosis (PP) - a treatable medical emergency that affects around 1400 women in the UK each year.

Being diagnosed with a severe mental illness like PP is frightening and shocking for the woman and those around her. With the right treatment, nearly all women make a full recovery, but the journey can be long, have ups and downs and can feel very isolating. APP peer supporters are there for everyone affected by PP, whether the experience was recent or many years ago. By donating today, you can help us be there for everyone who needs us, for as long as they need us.

Will you donate today and get your donation doubled?

The peer support programme has helped me immensely. I regularly email a peer supporter and we share a lot about our own experiences.
Knowing that someone further along on their PP journey is there with advice and support has been a real help for my recovery.

Help us be there for even more women and families.

Donate now through our Big Give Women & Girls Campaign and your donation will be doubled, at no additional cost to you.

Thank you for your support.

9 October 2024

MBU nurses run for APP!

Three perinatal mental health nurses are taking on the Manchester Half Marathon for APP this weekend.

Amy, Megan and Sophie all work supporting new mums being treated at Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Lancashire. Over the last few months they've been training so hard for the half marathon and they're now looking forward to taking their places on the start line in Manchester this Sunday. They've been posting updates on their training on TikTok - and you can follow them @therunningmhnurses

All three say they wanted to do this for APP because in their work they see the impact that postpartum psychosis has on mums and families:

We wanted to run for APP because we see daily the impact that a life changing diagnosis has on our ladies. It's heartbreaking and can be such a lonely time for ladies and families. APP supports them during this time and it really can be life saving support.

We see the resilience and strength our ladies and families have when it comes to postpartum psychosis and we just wanted to do something small in support of all our ladies who have experienced/are experiencing postpartum psychosis.

We see them, we are here for them and we are so proud of them. We have the best job in the world.

APP Peer Support Facilitator Jocelyn Ellams works with Amy, Megan and Sophie as part of our service providing support and information to families at Ribblemere. Jocelyn says: 'I’ve seen the impact Amy, Meg and Sophie have. They are kind, caring and empathetic and an amazing source of support for the mums on the ward. This understanding is only highlighted by the fact they are fundraising for us!'

The nurses have already raised an incredible amount but they would love any more support to help them get to the finish line on the big day. You can add your support here.

Good luck to our Ribblemere runners!
We hope you have a fantastic day. Thank you so much for your support.

7 October 2024

Georgina’s story: I experienced postpartum psychosis while still in labour

At some point, I lost touch with reality and didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. I was hallucinating and delusional, and I genuinely started to believe during labour that I could speak to the dead and that I too would die after the birth of my son.

I was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. The tricky thing for me however, was that my psychosis began during labour, which is really unusual. I started acting really out of character – I got aggressive towards the nurses, shouting at the top of my voice. I developed really strong hallucinations and delusions. I genuinely thought my dead family members were in the room with me and that after I’d delivered my son, I’d die too.

Because I was so psychotic, my body just couldn’t proceed with what it was naturally trying to do – after two failed epidurals it was like my thoughts completely hijacked the process, stopping my progress in labour. Unfortunately, this stress caused our son’s heart rate to drop, which led to me being rushed to theatre for an emergency C-section.

Thankfully, Albie, our son, safely arrived. But whilst I was in recovery my psychosis continued to grow. I started to believe that if I slept, I’d die.

My delusion was so strong that I discharged myself from the hospital on the day I had my C-section because I strongly believed I wanted to go home to die. I felt no pain – I was able to stand, I even thought I could run.

After I left hospital, my parents and husband knew straight away that something wasn’t quite right. I kept saying to them, ‘if I sleep tonight, I’m going to die. You want me to sleep, so you must want me to die.’

Luckily my sister-in-law is a mental health nurse who deals with a lot of maternal mental health, so she was called to come and see me. She could tell straight away that I had postpartum psychosis – she said I had the ‘psychotic stare’, where my pupils were so large my eyes looked black. She told my husband to take me to a mental health centre for assessment.

When I arrived at the centre, I believed I was there to be locked up, and I thought my son was going to be taken away from me. I was so desperate to avoid this, I wrestled my husband to leave – and because I’d had a C-section the day before, they chose to let me leave to avoid causing any further damage to my incision. On the journey home I also attempted to take my own life by jumping out of the moving car on a dual carriageway. Luckily my husband contained me, and pulled over safely or else it could have been a very different situation.

Instead, psychiatrists and doctors were sent to my home to assess me. That’s when it became clear that I had postpartum psychosis. By that time I’d still not slept for five days, I’d lost all ability to speak and became very baby-like. I was quiet and could only write things down – it was probably one of the worst days in my life. I wanted to die. It was rock bottom for me.

It was at that point that my husband had to sign the paperwork that would allow me to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It was a really hard time for him too.

Postpartum psychosis doesn’t just affect you – it affects the people around you. For my parents to have to see me in a psychotic state – that’s not something any parent should see. And my husband… he was so great, but he went through so much, too. During what should have been a really special time for a new family, he actually had to sign me and our newborn over to social services.

Road to recovery

I was admitted to a mother and baby unit in a psychiatric ward, where I received treatment.

When I arrived, I was sedated and slept for 24 hours – the first time I’d slept in seven days. I began anti-psychotic medication, and slowly started coming out of the psychosis.

The nurses were excellent. And what’s so important about mother and baby units is that they take care of you, so you can look after your baby. They also believe in keeping mothers with their baby through recovery to help with the maternal bond. I was able to get the sleep and medication I needed, so I could care for Albie. During the nights, they looked after him so I could sleep – which is such a crucial part to recovery.

Within a few weeks I was able to care for Albie with less supervision; I was so grateful that my maternal instinct was still there. Despite the psychosis I still wanted to be that new mum, bonding with my baby.

I had my section lifted within three weeks.

Transitioning back to work

I’d never suffered with my mental health before, so it’s been quite an eye-opening experience and I’m still recovering. Over the past 18 months I’ve been receiving support, including therapy and medication. I’ve also found it really helpful to connect with people who have been through this before. And I’m getting lots of support from my friends, family and professional support.

My employer has been amazing too; they’ve been so good to me as I transition back to work. My manager and I have weekly check-ins and there’s been no pressure or judgment – she’s been hugely supportive and flexible to get me back into a good place during my recovery and returning to work. If I didn’t have this support, I don’t think I’d have been able to get back here.

Sharing my story and raising awareness has become so important to me. I don’t want other people who are going through this to feel alone, which is why I want to get the word out on postpartum psychosis.

Empowering change

It’s really important to me to use my own experience to help others. That’s why, after my experience of discharging myself on the day of my C-section, I’ve successfully lobbied for the introduction of mandatory mental health assessments of new mums before discharge from hospital following childbirth. This means mums are now screened for maternal mental health issues, including postpartum psychosis, before they can leave the hospital.

4 October 2024

WITCHES, a new documentary by Elizabeth Sankey exploring perinatal mental illness

WITCHES, a powerful new documentary film by Elizabeth Sankey, examines the relationship between cinematic portrayals of witches and how we view women, motherhood, and mental health. It shows historical footage across film, television, and culture alongside personal stories.

We’re delighted that members of our community were interviewed for the project and have their postpartum psychosis stories featured in the film, including APP trustee Catherine Cho and Dr Krystal Wilkinson. Documentary contributors also include Sophia Di Martino, David Emson, Dr. Trudi Seneviratne, Professor Marion Gibson and Shema Tariq.

Catherine Cho says: “I was asked to participate in the film as an interviewee, and I remember being struck by Elizabeth’s passion and dedication to bringing this project to life. Watching the film, I was struck by the parallels in history. Some of the most moving elements in the documentary are listening to the historical testimony of women who were found to be guilty of being a ‘witch’ or a vessel to the devil and realising that their experiences are what we would now know to be mental illness.

“The documentary weaves together Elizabeth’s perspective, her journey from being sectioned to trying to make sense of her experience, her love of cinema, and the stories of others with shared experiences of postpartum mental illness.

“There is a moment towards the end of the documentary where Elizabeth walks hand in hand with her son, and it brought me to tears, that in walking through darkness, through horrors, through a haunted place, we can emerge.

“It is not only a beautiful film, it is an important one, a shared testimony.”

Screenings take place over the next few months in London and Manchester. For further details and updates, check your local cinema listings.

LONDON

Tuesday 15 October 2024 20:30 BFI Southbank

Thursday 17 October 2024 18:00 Prince Charles Cinema

Sunday 20 October 2024 20:45 BFI Southbank

Book tickets here: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=witches-lff24&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

MANCHESTER

Friday 1 November 18:00 at Home Manchester

This includes a Q&A with writer-director Elizabeth Sankey, chaired by David Cox, Channel Editor at Film4 and co-curator of FilmFear.

Book tickets here:

https://homemcr.org/film/witches/?utm_source=manchestertheatres

💜 A note on the film content for our lived experience community:
Some of our team and volunteers have viewed the film and shared that certain scenes may be challenging or upsetting, depending on where you are in your postpartum psychosis journey. Please take care and decide whether it's the right time for you to watch.

If you'd like to find out more about the themes before watching WITCHES, please get in touch with us:

📧 Email: app@app-network.org

2 October 2024

Sam & Adam share their story

This Sunday, dad of two Adam is taking on an epic challenge - the Suffolk Whole Hog muddy obstacle course - made up of 30 obstacles round a very muddy five mile course.

Adam has chosen to do this to raise funds for and awareness of APP because his wife Sam was diagnosed with PP after the birth of their first son back in 2017.

Here, Sam shares her experience of her illness in her own words:

'I quickly became severely unwell, experiencing hallucinations, paranoia and terrifying intrusive thoughts. Just 15 days after giving birth I was sectioned under the mental health act and alongside my newborn I was placed in a Mother and Baby Unit 65 miles away from our home. During this time I was looked after by some amazing people and now have a rainbow tattoo on my ankle in honour of the people that saved me.

At the MBU I finally felt safe. Although still so unwell I was slowly able to recover with the help of some wonderful people who I will never forget.

I have since gone on to have our second son in 2020, thankfully with no repercussions. To anyone who is experiencing PP please believe you will get there. You may be a different version of yourself from before but that's OK. Put your trust in those that are helping you get better and allow yourself time. It is a traumatic experience that will never leave you but it doesn't have to define you.'

Thank you Sam for sharing your story with us, and thank you Adam for taking on the Whole Hog challenge for APP. We're looking forward to seeing the photos!

If you'd like to support Adam's fundraising, you can visit his JustGiving page here.

24 September 2024

APP September Newsletter

Free APP webinar: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide

Book your place on APP’s free webinar: essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide – on Wednesday 16th October at 12pm - here.

Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in the UK and rates are increasing nationally. APP’s second annual Alex Baish Memorial webinar is aimed at GPs (but all frontline health professionals are welcome) and will outline the actions needed to support and protect women who develop postpartum psychosis (PP). The webinar, delivered in collaboration with The National Centre for Mental Health at Cardiff University (NCMH) and General Practitioners Championing Perinatal Mental Health Care (GPCPC) will include a Q&A session with APP’s clinical, academic and lived experience experts.

More than 2,500 health professionals signed up for last year’s webinar. Of the attendees, 92% rated the training as ‘excellent' and 100% agreed they would change their practice as a result.

Book your free place here or register to receive a recording after the event. Please share with your networks to let as many people as possible who work with new mothers know how to join us.

Can you display a poster to promote the webinar where it will be seen by health professionals? Download a poster here.

Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK: 23rd - 29th September

Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK is taking place this week. This important week raises awareness of the maternal mental health challenges faced by Black mothers. The Motherhood Group has organised free webinars throughout the week. You can find more information and sign up for the webinars by visiting The Motherhood Group's website. Follow updates about the week on social media: @TheMotherhoodGroup #BMMHW24.

APP staff and volunteers will be attending the Motivational Mums Club conference in London on Monday 4th November. The conference is about improving mental health outcomes for Black mothers and birthing people. We will be speaking about our lived experience of postpartum psychosis (PP) and raising awareness of the help and support APP offers. For more details about this free conference, please visit this link.

Thank you to our Black storytellers, who have shared their lived experience stories of PP to help raise awareness. You can read APP peer support volunteer Lobeh’s story here.

If you are Black, have experienced PP, and would be interested in volunteering for APP, please get in touch. We would love more Black peer supporters, storytellers, and lived experience speakers so we can reach more Black families affected by PP and offer more specific information and support. Email: ellie@app-network.org

New LGBTQ+ support group

We’re starting a new LGBTQ+ support group for those affected by PP.

This online group is a space to connect, share and support one another. Whether you’ve experienced PP, high mood or mania after childbirth, or if you’re a partner or family member of someone who has, we’re here for you. We also offer peer support and information if you are at high risk of PP because you are pregnant and have bipolar disorder.

The group’s first meeting will be on Monday 7th October. If you’re interested in joining, email us at app@app-network.org. Or book your place here.

The Big Give

Our match funding campaign is back next month – from midday on World Mental Health Day, 10th October, to midday on 17th October, all donations made via this page up to £5,000 will be doubled at no additional cost to you. Funds raised through this campaign will go towards our award winning, life changing, life saving peer support projects.

So if you’ve been thinking about holding a Big Bake event, running a raffle or simply making a one off donation to us, do consider doing it during that week – it means whatever you give will be worth twice as much and have twice the impact! Contact Fliss for more info and support if you’re thinking of holding an event.

If you can’t hold an event or donate this time, please do look out for and share our social media posts about the Big Give so we reach as many people as possible. Thank you!

Please fill out our Peer Support survey

Thank you to everyone who has responded to our peer support survey. If you haven’t done so yet, there’s still time to complete the survey before the end of September.

It’s open to anyone who has used APP's peer support service (online forum, café groups, one to one support via email, video/phone call or face-to-face, NHS partnership projects, or any other contact with an APP peer support volunteer or staff member). We would also like to hear from our 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 or quotes you may wish to add will also remain anonymous. If you haven't used our peer support service but know someone else who has, please forward the link on to them.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is coming up on the 10th of October. This year’s theme is "It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace."

We’re looking for short quotes to share on APP’s social media on this theme. If you’d like to be involved, please send a short quote/reply to the questions below, to jessie@app-network.org as soon as you can.

How did your experience with postpartum psychosis (PP) affect your return to work (if you went back to work)?

What support helped to make a difference?

What message of hope would you give to someone affected by PP, who is returning to work?

Fabulous fundraisers

We’ve had some incredible fundraising efforts nationwide - from Edinburgh to Cornwall - over the last few months, thank you to everyone who has taken part in an event or who has supported them.

Sarah P (pictured above, left) took on a Toughmudder for APP last month - smashing all the obstacles in her way, and raising more than £2,000 in the process!
Sarah H had an epic skydive experience over the beautiful Cornish coast - check out the incredible video of her here!
Five amazing APP supporters, Philippa, Owen, Tim (pictured above, right) as well as Rob and Mikyla completed the Great North Run earlier this month, and between them raised more than £5,000!
Leanne and Stuart took part in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk to raise funds and awareness for APP - so far they’ve raised more than £1,500 and they also shared their story here.
Matt completed his first ever half marathon in Blackpool in August, then went on to triumph at Fleetwood triathlon this month!
Last weekend 17 year old Aideen completed the Belfast Half Marathon for APP in memory of her aunt Orlaith. You can support Aideen here.

A massive WELL DONE and thank you to every one of you!

Autumn is always a busy time for runners with loads of events happening - look out for APP supporters out and about in their purple tops - Gemma & Steve at the Torbay Half Marathon, Matt at the Kielder Marathon, Annabel and Emily at the Cardiff Half, Adam at the Whole Hog Toughmudder in Suffolk, Mai at the Great Scottish Run and our four Manchester half marathon runners - Rachel, Amy, Megan and Sophie! Good luck everyone!

Feeling inspired?

We are recruiting runners for the Brighton Marathon, taking place on April 6th next year. Organised by the same people as the London Marathon, Brighton is a fantastic event to be part of - the crowds are amazing, and you end right by the seafront! Run for APP and the reg fee is just £26. We already have two runners signed up so have just three places remaining. Contact us if you’d like one of them.

We’ve also updated the challenge page again with loads of exciting new events for 2025. There’s something for everyone - from Santa fancy dress fun runs to mammoth international bike rides! Check it out here.

Join the next APP Book Club meeting

The next APP Book Club meet-up is on Wednesday, 13th November, from 8-9pm on Zoom.

We’ll be discussing 'Everyone is Here to Help: A healing account of postpartum psychosis and recovery' by Ruth M Stacey.

For more info on the book and to read an extract, visit our website.

Please RSVP for the Book Club via this link.

Don’t forget to join our Facebook Group too.

Dates for your diary

Black Maternal Mental Health Week, Monday 23rd – Sunday 29th September

APP Scotland virtual café group meet-up, Thursday 26th September

APP Manchester face to face café group meet-up, Friday 27th September

APP Yorkshire virtual café group meet-up, Monday 30th September

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet-up in Blackburn, Friday 4th October

APP Wales face to face café group meet-up, Saturday 5th October

APP LGBTQ+ virtual café group meet-up, Monday 7th October

World Mental Health Day, Thursday 10th October

APP Scotland virtual café group meet-up, Thursday 10th October

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet-up in Blackpool, Friday 11th October

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet-up, Monday 14th October

APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet-up, Wednesday 16th October

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet-up in Lancaster, Wednesday 16th October

Free APP webinar: Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide, Wednesday 16th October

APP Northern Ireland virtual café group meet-up, Thursday 17th October

World Menopause Day, Friday 18th October

APP London face to face café group meet-up, Saturday 19th October

APP Yorkshire virtual café group meet-up, Wednesday 23rd October

APP Manchester face to face café group meet-up, Friday 25th October

APP Book Club virtual meet-up, Wednesday 13th November, 8-9pm. RSVP for the Book Club via this link

Contact information for all APP café groups is available here.

Conferences/Events

Black Maternal Mental Health Week webinar series, September

The Motherhood group is running a series of webinars in support of the week:

Why Black Maternal Mental Health Matters, Monday 23rd September
Breaking the Silence: Addressing Stigma and Barriers, Tuesday 24th September
Birth Trauma and Pregnancy Loss, Wednesday 25th September
Black Child Mental Health Day: Nurturing the next generation, Thursday 26th September
Power of Community: Screening Black Maternal Health Conference, Friday 27th September

More information and details of how to book here.

Online workforce training on the importance of Peer Support in suicide ideation prevention in young mums, October

The Mental Health Foundation, in partnership with Maternal Mental Health Alliance, is running free online workforce training focusing on the importance of peer support groups in reducing the key risk factors that lead to suicidal ideation amongst young mums. The training will be run on:

Tuesday 8th October 2024
Thursday 10th October 2024
Tuesday 5th November 2024
Wednesday 6th November 2024

More information and details of how to book here.

Waiting for Change: how can we reduce suicide and poor mental health on the parenthood journey in Wales? Thursday 17th October

Free webinar run by Samaritans Cymru to launch their new parental mental health project. Guest speakers include Emma Gooding and Neil Ingham from Samaritans Cymru and Mark Wiliams from Fathers Reaching Out. More details and booking link here.

If you would like to advertise your event here, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.

17 September 2024

Chris kicks off a new season of awareness raising

APP super supporter Chris is back for another season of raising awareness of APP through attending football matches across the UK.

Since 2023, Chris has been going to football matches at grounds around and closest to the 22 Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in the UK. He has a specially made purple APP football shirt that he wears for every match and does his best to get a mention in the matchday programme each time.

This season he's kicked off with a match at Crystal Palace FC. Chris reports back for us here:

'Match #6 complete! Football season is officially back!

On Saturday 14th September 2024 I attended my 6th match of my football awareness tour with my dad Gary! We went to see Crystal Palace draw 2-2 at home against Leicester at Selhurst Park.

After a disappointing first half, The Eagles recovered from two nil down to secure a draw. The exciting second half and passionate home crowd, celebrating 100 years at Selhurst Park, made for a brilliant experience!

I have to say a special thank you to my fellow PP dad who helped get us these tickets. I am so so grateful! This was a surprise fixture at this stage of my awareness tour, and a day neither my dad or I will forget.

Despite very high demand I was able to get an entry about my challenge, postpartum psychosis and the MBUs in the match day programme!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit the local South London and Maudsley MBU in person on this occasion. But I did manage to speak to the Ward Manager and another member of staff before my trip, to thank them for all the amazing work they do.'

UPDATE 26th October 2024

Chris's latest trip was to Bolton last weekend, another successful day - he's reported back on it for us here:

'Match #7 complete!

Yesterday, Saturday 26th October 2024, I attended my 7th match of my football awareness tour with my good friend Ross. We went to see Bolton beat Peterborough 1-0 at home thanks to a dramatic stoppage time winner.

I have to be honest and say we were hoping for a goal fest given the two clubs form, but it was certainly an entertaining finish!

Bolton put an amazing entry in their matchday programme about my challenge, postpartum psychosis and the MBUs. It was lovely!

Technically I have already attended a football match close to the Chorley Ribblemere MBU, seeing Accrington Stanley last October (2023), and also visiting the MBU in person this March (2024).

But Bolton is less than 10 miles away from the MBU. And I know Ross has been eagerly waiting to join in on this tour and help me in raising awareness for this cause. So it was a great day out!

Before the game we were lucky enough to meet up with Kieran Anders from Dad Matters. It was great to be able to meet Kieran in person, fresh with a new trim having just chopped off his hair for The Little Princess Trust and Home-Start HOST!

In a rare turn of events for this awareness tour, the home team won! So Kieran said I am welcome to come back again!'

UPDATE 12th November 2024

Next stop on Chris's tour took him to Derby:

'On Saturday 9th November 2024 I attended my 8th match of my football awareness tour with my good friend Ed!

We went to see Derby draw 1-1 against Plymouth Argyle at home at Pride Park.

The highlights of the game had to be the opening goal, a bicycle kick from Derby, and an outrageous Derby strike from the halfway line that the Plymouth goalie just clawed away.

On this occasion I wasn't able to get an entry in the matchday programme...it appears Derby don't do public notifications in their programmes... But I do have to say a massive thank you to the club! They were really interested in our experience and my awareness tour, and arranged for us to have pitch side photographs with five Derby players before the match.

I knew that we were going to have pre-match photographs, but I didn't know that we would be walking down the tunnel and having the photographs with the players! So, this was another incredible and unexpected experience on this journey!

The Pride Park stadium is less than 5 miles from the Beeches MBU. And we actually got to visit this MBU on this trip. It was really nice to be able to meet the wonderful Jo and Becky and other members of staff at the Beeches MBU on this trip, to talk about our experience and the important work they do and to see how another MBU differs. And it is really promising to hear that there is work being done for, and more consideration being given to, our experiences as partners as well.'

UPDATE 8th January 2025

For his first match of the new year, Chris headed to Watford on the 4th January.

'I have been to my 9th match of my tour today with my dad Gary. We went to see Watford lose 2-1 against promotion chasing Sheffield United at home at Vicarage Road.

The match marked the eighth anniversary of club legend Graham Taylor's passing with the 'Graham Taylor Matchday'.

I have to say this was the coldest match I have been to on this challenge so far! It was very cold!

And I really do seem to be a curse to the home teams!

Watford put a really nice entry in their matchday programme about my challenge, Postpartum Psychosis and the MBUs. They even included my Instagram account in the entry to help spread awareness.

I did call the local Hertfordshire Thumbswood MBU before my trip, but unfortunately didn't get to visit in person on this occasion. '

You can follow Chris's awareness raising adventures via his Instagram here.

If you're a dad or co-parent that would like to meet and talk with others whose partners have experienced PP, join our virtual Dads and Co-parents peer support social / cafe group - 8-9pm, every 3rd Wednesday of the month. Zoom joining link: bit.ly/PARTNERMEET. Or, email Simon: simon@app-network.org

7 September 2024

APP's 2025 Great North Run Team

It's the one of the biggest and most well know half marathons in the world - the Great North Run - and we're so excited to have FIVE runners taking part for APP this year:

Tim in his purple APP top at his local York Parkrun

Tim

Tim is running for APP because of the work we do campaigning for more Mother & Baby Units (MBU).

Tim's family have first hand experience of not being able to access a local MBU. When his wife was diagnosed with PP after the birth of their second child, there was no bed available at their nearest MBU, meaning she had to be treated some way from their family home.
Tim says 'Nine years on and with a healthy family, we would like to give something back to enable help to be made available for other families in a similar situation.

Add your support for Tim here.

Mikyla

Mikyla is taking on her first half marathon and we couldn't be more grateful that she has chosen to do this for APP.

She says: 'I am dedicating my first ever half-marathon to new mums and APP as my charity. I want to show solidarity to all new mums and their families, and to help bring support to the new mums who most need it.'

Support Mikyla here.

Rob

Rob has chosen to take on the Great North Run for APP this year as 'it is a cause close to my heart and I wanted to support the great work that APP does.'
Thank you Rob and good luck!

Add your support for Rob here.

Philippa & Owen

Running together and inspired to do so to support brother in law Rob and his family, Philippa and Owen have been training hard and are excited to take on the Great North Run for the first time!

Add your support for Philippa and Owen here.

A huge thank you to all of our runners, and to everyone who has supported them with their training, and through donations.

Look out for them in their purple APP tops on the TV coverage and do give them an extra cheer if you're going to be there in person this weekend.

15 August 2024

Sarah takes to the skies for APP!

This August, Sarah Horton will be skydiving from 10,000ft over the coast of Cornwall to raise funds and awareness.

Sarah has bravely chosen to take on this challenge after her partner Charity became ill with postpartum psychosis (PP) after the birth of their triplets three years ago. You can read more about their story here.

Charity explains: 'Sarah decided to fundraise predominantly because PP is a relatively unknown illness (we had no knowledge of it) and something that hit us out of the blue and affected us personally and we now feel, after therapy, we have come out the other side.

It was quite comforting when I was in the psychiatric unit to be given APP leaflets explaining what I had and that there was an existing charity made up of people who knew exactly how we felt. Sarah said she wants to 'give back' - without the existence of APP giving support, researching and all of those people in the NHS who came to our aid and helped our recovery our story could've been so different.

When people ask me what I want for my birthday I always say, I don't want anything, just please donate to APP because that means more to me than any gift (and I mean that in the most non-cringey way!).

It is so important that research continues, this awful illness is so soul destroying and confusing to suffer, it leaves you feeling robbed of what is supposed to be a magical life event so it's vitally important to find out the real reason it happens so that people can move forward and be happy.

The more we shout about it, the more people will recognise the signs in the loved ones - awareness is key. I said to Sarah the other day, I'd love to do a run or something to raise money but the reality is I'm unfit and don't have the time with 3 toddlers to train and that's where Sarah said she'd skydive for me!'

You can add your support for Sarah's skydive challenge here.

Thank you so much to both of you for sharing your story, and good luck to Sarah for your skydive, we can't wait to hear all about it!

13 August 2024

Leanne’s story: Reading other people’s recovery stories has allowed me to process what happened to me

I have always been a worrier, but I felt pregnancy was a particularly long and very anxious time in my life. I only really began to relax towards the end and then suddenly here she was!

She was actually ten days overdue when we toddled to hospital for induction in May 2022. Labour was long, and it ended in a forceps delivery which was difficult.

Post delivery, though, I began perking up. I was in theatre, and, because we love Grey's Anatomy, it was kind of exciting to be there. Plus, I finally got some pain relief. But looking back, it's hard to determine if those feelings were actually the start of my symptoms of postpartum psychosis (PP).

Immediately after the birth, my husband and I burst into tears of happiness. I was on cloud nine, and for a fair stretch of time I rarely came back down. Just over a week after giving birth, I was diagnosed with PP and our world stopped turning.

We had been discharged two days after the birth and were at home for six days. Whilst at home I was struggling to breastfeed and found being a new mum challenging. However, I was in awe of our newborn and could not process the sheer amount of joy and stimulation she had brought to our lives. The first memories of her meeting friends and family were magical and I didn't want to miss a thing. So I didn't. Within the first six days I literally only slept a handful of hours which really took its toll. It's difficult to know if the lack of sleep triggered PP or if the lack of sleep was a symptom of PP. I'm sure this must be a common conundrum amongst other survivors.

It started off gradually but things became rapidly worse.

My behaviour became really out of character, and my husband described me as a different person. I had the energy of a Duracell bunny, talking erratically and making less and less sense as things progressed. My moods were very up and down but, because we were first time parents and had been told about baby blues and hormones, it took us a week to call for help as we thought it must be normal. But I progressively got worse and fluctuated between euphoric highs and tearful lows. I began gathering items for a tool kit in a strange manner which concerned everyone.

When we eventually called NHS 24 they recommended that I should go straight to A&E. From there, I was admitted to the Mother & Baby Unit (MBU) where I stayed with my daughter for the next five weeks, at first voluntarily and then under section.

After entering hospital I declined even further and it was clear that I was extremely unwell. Despite mainly being on a high and euphoric, I was also confused and angry at the situation and responded slowly to medication, leading to the decision to receive Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), which was a turning point in my recovery. I began to improve almost immediately - within just two sessions. The effects allowed me to slow down and rest and in turn begin to process things at a more suitable speed.

After both myself and my daughter tested positive for Covid the decision was taken that we would best recover at home. We were close to beginning the transition to home visits and I received great support from the MBU and the Acute Care and Support Team. At the time I was desperate to get home and begin our life as a family of three, however this was just the beginning in accepting what had happened.

I have since struggled a lot with the stigma of having mental health issues which is why I became so interested in raising awareness around the topic and sharing my story. When I was ill I became obsessed with music and the playlist I had prepared for labour. Sadly, we were never able to use it during the birth but, because I have always loved music, I have since found it therapeutic to listen to during my recovery. I have also enjoyed reading memoirs written by survivors as well as other books focusing on perinatal mental health. Reading different recovery stories has been the most helpful thing to process what happened to me in peace and feel like my story and feelings are valid. Despite the challenging symptoms and experiences that I would not wish on anyone, reading that I was not alone and that others had experienced similar things was the biggest help in terms of finding acceptance.

On the ward I regularly put my checkered Vans on (I thought of them as my ‘getaway shoes’) and tried to make a break for it, but in the time that has passed since leaving hospital there have been many days when I would be grateful to go back to the MBU for a break from my head. I wish it was known that if you require admission and some help at this vulnerable time, that its not something to fear - the care and support on an MBU is incredible, in my experience. I will be eternally grateful to the nurses and psychiatric team who looked after my tiny bundle and me - and also supported my husband and immediate family through a critical period. Having no diagnosed history of mental health issues in the past, my experience came as a big shock for us all as we managed new expectations and grieved the newborn period we had hoped for.

I had no idea such vital and important work was going on every day in a hospital, a few minutes away.

Upon my discharge from the MBU, I received leaflets from the charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP). I have since benefited from their online forum, informative website, one to one support, cafe zoom groups and the continual updates on fundraising and positive recovery stories. Speaking to others who have also experienced PP has been really helpful to me, finding a community and others who can relate to my story makes me feel less alone.

We are now thrilled to be raising money for this incredible charity by walking in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk on Sunday 15th September. The walk is a unique way to raise funds for a charity you care about.

And hopefully, our now two-year-old little red head will meet us at the finish line.

To find out more about Leanne’s Kiltwalk fundraiser and to donate, click here.