Tag Archives: mother and baby unit

26 May 2023

APP May Newsletter

New café groups

We’re delighted to announce the launch of two new peer support café groups for women and families affected by postpartum psychosis (PP):

On 22nd July, we’ll be holding our first online meet-up for Muslim women who have experienced psychosis in the perinatal period. The group will be run by Zebunisa and Ramlah from APP’s diverse communities outreach team for Muslim women to share experiences of PP, make new friends as well as find and offer support.

Zebunisa says: “I’m very much looking forward to meeting Muslim women who have been through postpartum psychosis. It’s a topic which isn’t discussed or mentioned enough and hopefully by meeting we can help raise awareness of mental illnesses such as PP following childbirth”.

Ramlah says: “I had PP back in 2014, after the birth of my first child. I am a British African Muslim woman with two beautiful children who I love dearly. Mental health is an open conversation I enjoy being a part of; I hope you are willing to come along and join us in this zoom call.”

If you would like to learn more or join the group, please email: zebunisa@app-network.org, or ramlah@app-network.org.

APP’s first UK-wide café group meeting will be held on 5th July. This friendly, informal meet-up on Zoom is for anyone who has experienced psychosis in the perinatal period, no matter where they live in the UK. To join, sign up on Eventbrite.

We already run nine regional café groups around the UK which meet virtually and face-to-face throughout the year. The groups are attended both by those newly recovering from PP and those who may have recovered many years ago. If you are interested in joining any of the groups – in Wales, Sussex & Hampshire, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Yorkshire, North East & North Cumbria, Lancashire & Cumbria, Birmingham and London - please email app@app-network.org.

We also run a virtual peer support group for dads and co-parents. It meets on the third Wednesday of every month 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.

New mother and baby unit

Plans for a new Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) - a specialist in-patient treatment unit where mums with mental illness are admitted with their babies - have been announced by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The eight-bed unit will be opened in Chester to support new and expectant parents across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.

APP’s National Training Coordinator, Dr Sally Wilson, is working with the Cheshire, Wirral and North Wales NHS teams to ensure the voices of lived experience are heard throughout the whole development process, as well as ensuring the unit helps to meet the needs of families from North Wales.

APP has long been campaigning for more MBU beds in the UK. We’re delighted that this new MBU will improve provision, enabling more mums and babies to stay together. There is work to be done to ensure that this is truly an accessible unit for women in North Wales including Welsh-speaking women and their families.

In many parts of the UK it is still the case that mothers and babies are forced to travel miles for treatment or that mums can be separated from their baby for treatment on an adult psychiatric ward. You can read more about APP’s campaigning for MBUs in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Scotland and add your voice here.

Richard's epic ride

On Monday, the incredible Richard Baish and his team of friends, will set off on a 475-mile, 5-day bike ride from Glasgow down to Oxfordshire. Richard is undertaking this challenge in memory of his wife Alex. He has already raised more than £37,000 so is well on his way to his £50,000 target.

His aim is to ensure healthcare professionals, antenatal educators and parents-to-be are made aware of the signs, symptoms and risks of PP, in the hope that no other families will have to go through what they have. We can’t thank him enough for all he has done already, and we’re all wishing him well on his ride – look out for updates on our social media feeds next week.

Dads and co-parents support

Chris, one of APP’s dads and co-parents peer supporters, took part in a podcast to share his experience of postpartum psychosis from the partner's perspective.

Chris spoke to Dr Rachel Davies, Clinical Psychologist at the Maternity Mental Health Service, for the Southern Health podcast.

Please note, this story talks about the trauma of postpartum psychosis very openly from a dad's perspective. Please take care if these are difficult topics for you at this stage in your recovery.

As Chris describes, PP is a hugely traumatic experience, not just for the women who develop it, but also for their partners and families. APP has produced an information guide for partners available here.

We are also hosting a specialist online training session: Supporting Dads and Co-parents on 14th July for health professionals and anyone interested in learning more about the impact of PP on families. The session will be delivered by the APP team along with dads and co-parents who have been affected by postpartum psychosis; share research related to the impact of PP on partners, as well as better understand the support needs of dads and co-parents.

For more information and to book a place email training@app-network.org.

Big Give - big thank you

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Big Give campaign during Mental Health Awareness Week – to everyone to donated, and to those who shared our emails and social media posts. We hit our £5,000 target by 8pm on Saturday – nearly two days ahead of the deadline. This will make such a huge difference to our dads and co-parents support project, which is so vital for families affected by PP.

111,000 people reached during Maternal Mental Health Awareness week

The Perinatal Mental Health Partnership’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness week ran from 1st to 7th May, engaging people throughout the world. APP shared content each day and ran events, including Laura Dockrill’s fabulous creative writing workshop, Peer Support sessions reaching the international community, and a research webinar in collaboration with the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH), Birmingham University’s Institute of Mental Health and the University of East Anglia.

Thank you to everyone who shared our posts – our social media activity reached more than 111,000 people during the week.

We also launched some brand new resources:

A free online toolkit for antenatal educators to support the delivery of information about PP in classes, and our postpartum psychosis signs and symptoms poster available as a free A4 printed poster and as downloadable social media graphics.

Both have been very well received:

“Just wanted to say that your awareness campaign is great. I do talk about postnatal psychosis with my antenatal class parents-to-be but I know a number of them ‘switch off’ when we try to discuss scary subjects. I have supported one family where the mother developed PP”. - Antenatal class provider

“Thank you so much for these downloadable resources. I'm an NCT antenatal teacher and have been spending 5 mins on PP since you encouraged us to, but these resources will help make the message clearer”. - NCT antenatal teacher

British Medical Journal paper on maternal deaths

A new BMJ paper highlights the need for Government action to ensure that all health care professionals are trained to identify and manage risk of suicide in the perinatal period.  An early release of MBRRACE data for 2019-2021 shows that suicide continues to be a leading cause of death, accounting for 8% of all those who died in the first year after birth. Suicide due to postpartum psychosis can be prevented through early detection of the illness, rapid access to specialist inpatient treatment in a Mother and Baby Unit and support services (including peer support) through to full recovery and beyond.

Through NHS consultations this year, APP will call on the UK Government to make training in postpartum psychosis mandatory for all health professionals and first responders who come into contact with new parents.  Lives can be saved by ensuring all parents are aware of postpartum psychosis antenatally and training all professionals to recognise symptoms and access urgent specialist treatment.

The report highlights the continued inequalities in perinatal suicide rates - with social disadvantage and multiple adversity increasing risk significantly.  It is vital that our training reaches professional groups working in disadvantaged communities and that we continue to grow our communities outreach work.

Health professional training

We were delighted to deliver our first face to face APP workforce training day since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic COVID earlier this month with the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (pictured above).

APP’s training is suitable for any professionals working with pregnant and postnatal women and families and draws upon cutting-edge research in postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder and the real experiences of women and families. Our courses develop knowledge and confidence in identifying and managing risk, developing pregnancy and postnatal management plans, identifying early symptoms, and providing high quality support to women and families from preconception to recovery.

Booking for the next online workshop on Wednesday 15th November is now open on Eventbrite.

Workforce training days can also be commissioned by individual NHS Trusts for their teams. If you would like to learn more about APP’s training offers email training@app-network.org.

Photography help

If you’re a keen photographer in the Manchester area, could you give APP a couple of hours of your time?

We’re looking for someone to take some high-quality pictures of a training event we’re holding on Saturday 8th July.

Please get in touch (app@app-network.org) if you could help. Thank you.

News from regional projects

  • On Wednesday 22nd March, Lucy - one of APP’s Northern Ireland based volunteers - ran an awareness-raising session at a women’s group which was attended by local women as well as health and social care professionals.
    APP staff talked about our work and the need for a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland volunteer Tara shared her experience of PP with the group, many of whom were previously unaware of the condition. Their feedback included:
    “…it’s such a hard thing to talk about. It’s helped me understand a lot better and what to keep an eye out for.”
    “…she is amazing and to be able to come and speak about her experiences so honestly will truly help women as there is still stigma around mental health.”
    Further sessions for other teams of professionals and women are being planned for Northern Ireland.
    Please follow and share our campaign posts for an MBU in Northern Ireland on social media using the hashtag #MumBabyTogetherNI. You can read more about APP’s Northern Ireland campaigning here and if you have experienced PP and live in NI, get in touch.
  • MMHA week Friday 12th May - Annette and Liva (pictured above), from APP’s Lancashire and South Cumbria project, attended an event at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for Maternal Mental Health Awareness day alongside Dad Matters, The Reproductive Trauma Service, maternity services and other organisations. A great opportunity to chat to with health professionals and share ideas about maternal mental health.
  • Mother and Baby Unit Open Day Saturday 13th May - APP joined Ribblemere’s open day held at the partner house on hospital grounds for families who had previously been at the MBU. It was lovely to see how well the mums were doing and how much the babies had grown. There was face painting, a treasure hunt and lots of tea and biscuits!
  • Birmingham-based Peer Support Facilitator, Soukaina, showcased APP’s work at the Chamomile MBU’s recruitment day on 22nd May. Around 200 people visited the event where Soukaina was able to talk about her work providing peer support to women, their partners and families at the MBU as well as across the community teams we work with in the Birmingham and Solihull area.

Media and books

Jocelyn, APP’s Peer Support Facilitator, talked about her work supporting mums at Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit in Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust’s experience of care week newsletter.

APP’s National Training Coordinator, Sally, explains why it is so important for families to have access to Mother and Baby Units in an article for Wales Online.

APP Ambassador, Catherine Cho, and Diverse Communities Outreach Worker, Zebunisa, talk to CNN about PP for a series on gender inequality.

Zebunisa talks to Tommy’s Pregnancy Hub about postpartum psychosis and antenatal education

Hannah, APP's National Coordinator for NHS Contracts and Regional Projects, spoke to Rochdale Online about the launch of our new partnership with Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) to provide peer support at Andersen Ward Mother and Baby Unit.

APP’s Book Club will be meeting on Wednesday 21st June to talk about Lucy Nichol’s new book, Snowflake: Breaking Through Mental Health Stereotypes and Stigma. Book your free place on the Zoom meet-up here.

Fabulous Fundraisers

Fabulous fundraisers Flora and Mollie (pictured right) took part in the Hackney Half Marathon last Sunday, raising an awesome £3,439 for APP. They were inspired to run by their best friend who was diagnosed with PP after the birth of her son. They trained hard, had a brilliant day and crossed the line together – thank you so much to both of them.

If you feel inspired to take on a running challenge – email us fundraising@app-network.org – we have access to places in events all over the UK, including the London Landmarks Half, the Robin Hood Half, the Yorkshire Marathon, Cardiff Half, Great South Run and the Great Scottish Run, to name just a few. Get in touch if you fancy it!

It’s been our busiest May ever for Miles for Mums and Babies, with individuals and teams taking part all over the UK, covering hundreds of miles and raising thousands of pounds for APP.  You can find a mini round up here, read about Becky’s epic walk here (pictured above), Justine and team’s (pictured below) Cavehill Climb here; Nottingham MBU’s family walk here, Jenny Wren’s Rattle & Rhyme group five mile buggy push and toddle; the nationwide BleepKind team smashing their 400mile challenge; plus keep an eye out for lots more updates at the end of the month.

Look out for those purple APP t-shirts if you’re out and about – in the last few weeks they’ve been spotted at the top of Scafell Pike (sported by our amazing fundraiser Lee) and at Trentham Gardens (worn by the fabulous Georgina and Chris – pictured right) Let us know if you see one of our purple tops out in the wild!

Over the next few days you might have an even better chance of spotting one than usual as so many fundraisers will be out and about all across the UK – Hazel will be cycling an amazing 65 miles in one day from Dundee to Livingston; the North Wales Perinatal Mental Health Team will be heading up Moel Famau in Denbighshire; Alice will be starting her huge 71 mile swim; Jennifer and Lee are completing a 26 mile walk to Nottingham MBU on Saturday;  Shelley and friends will be running a 5K in Stormont, NI; and one of our youngest fundraisers, 10 year old Annie, will be completing her mile a day in May challenge in Cornwall.

The month might nearly be over but it’s definitely not too late to get involved – Miles for Mums and Babies can happen whenever and however you want it to! So, if you have an idea for your own Miles for Mums and Babies challenge, we’d love to hear from you!

Research

Exploring Black mothers’ experiences of postpartum psychosis and the role of racism

APP is supporting Emily Monger, a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Essex, who is exploring the experiences of postpartum psychosis for Black mothers, and how the role of racism and/or discrimination may have impacted women’s recovery for women. She is looking for women in the UK, aged 18+ who identify as being from a Black background and who have experience of PP to take part in her study. To find out more email em21633@essex.ac.uk.

New psychological intervention to support women and families who have experienced postpartum psychosis

A research team at the University of East Anglia, led by Dr Jo Hodgekins, would like to talk to partners of women who have experienced PP. The research team is interested in learning more about what ‘recovery’ means to people with lived experience of psychosis and their families and the kinds of issues people would like additional support with, and what this support might look like. For more information, email j.hodgekins@uea.ac.uk.

The role of sleep in the development of postpartum psychosis

If you have experienced PP, we are working with a team at Birmingham University to find out more about the role of sleep in the development of PP. Anyone who has experienced PP can take part in the pilot study which will involve filling in a number of questionnaires about their sleep patterns. For more information or to take part in the study, email: I.Morales-Munoz@bham.ac.uk or c.a.f.carr@bham.ac.uk

If you are a researcher and would like us to support your research, please get in touch at an early stage in planning: research@app-network.org.

Dates for your diary

APP Yorkshire virtual café group meet up, Thursday 8th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Lancashire & South Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackpool, Friday 9th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Lancashire & South Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 12th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Wales virtual café group meet up, Monday 12th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Scotland virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 13th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Lancashire & South Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 14th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP London virtual café group meet up, Thursday 15th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Lancashire & South Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 16th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 21st June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Book Club virtual meeting, Wednesday 21st June: Book here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/app-book-club-snowflake-by-lucy-nichol-tickets-641366172487?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&keep_tld=1

APP Northern Ireland virtual café group meet up, Thursday 22nd June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Lancashire & South Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackburn, Tuesday 27th June: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Sussex and Hampshire face to face café group meet up, Saturday 1st July: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP UK-wide virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 5th July: APP regional café groups webpage.

APP Muslim women’s virtual café group meet up, Saturday 22nd July: APP regional café groups webpage.

Upcoming conferences and events

Coventry & Warwickshire Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Walk, Sunday 11th June
5km walk at Ryton Pools Country Park. Organised by By Your Side. More information here.

Perinatal Mental Health Services: Improving access and support, Friday 7th July
Virtual conference focusing on improving perinatal mental health services as well as access and support during and beyond Covid-19. Book tickets here.

Improving Safety in Maternity Services, Thursday 13th July

Online conference focussing on a multidisciplinary approach to improving safety in maternity services following the Ockenden Review. Book tickets here.

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

25 May 2023

Hazel's 65 mile cycle

Last weekend, APP volunteer Hazel Oates from Perth in Scotland took on a huge #milesformumsandbabies challenge for APP.

She cycled 65 miles from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, to the general psychiatric ward at the Murray Royal Hospital in Perth, then on to the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at St John's hospital in Livingston - the journey she made when ill with postpartum psychosis.  She was joined along the way by friends and family who were also a big support to her on her recovery journey.

She said:

What an incredible day! It was a real full circle moment, the first time round I was driven to the hospital by a care assistant whilst completely wracked with panic, fear, and strange thoughts. This time I travelled there with some lovely friends and family under my own steam and felt like the journey was reclaimed.

She stopped in at the MBU during her cycle to say hello to staff and give some gifts to the mums there. Hazel has now raised an incredible £5,000 from over 230  supporters - showing how many her message has already reached.

She also bravely chose to share her own personal story with the local media to help raise even more awareness of the illness and the effects it can have. Read her sensitive and powerful article here.

She posted regular updates of her training (and pictures of the beautiful Scottish countryside) on her GoFundMe page - you can see more and add your support for her fantastic achievements here.

Thank you Hazel!

27 April 2023

A focus on fundraisers in Northern Ireland

Claire's half marathon in memory of her friend, Orlaith

Claire Tennyson is taking on the Hillsborough Castle & Gardens Half Marathon this July, in memory of her dear friend Orlaith Quinn.

Claire says:

This October will mark five years since Orlaith left us. Orlaith was charismatic, compassionate, fiercely loyal, full of sass and an absolute stunner. There are people in life you instantly connect with, and for me, she was one of them.

Orlaith’s passing was found by a court to be 'foreseeable and preventable' and at the time of the hearing the coroner also called for a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) to be established in Northern Ireland.In the absence of a functioning Executive, the possibility of this being developed in the near future is very slim but APP are continuing to do all they can to push for reform.

In that context, I want to raise money in the interim for this very worthwhile charity to assist in the support they give mothers, mothers-to-be and mothers yet to come.

It is the biggest honour of my life to be a mother and for that privilege to have been so cruelly cut short for Orlaith, and her children, is heart breaking.

So please donate if you can, share to raise awareness, and most importantly of all spare a thought for Orlaith.  She is missed.

You can support Claire here.

Also taking part in the Hillsborough Castle and Gardens Running Festival is APP volunteer Lucy who will be challenging herself to complete the 10K event on the day. Find out more and add your support for Lucy here.

Miles for Mums and Babies in Northern Ireland

We have two teams taking on our #MilesforMumsandBabies Challenge in Northern Ireland this year.

On the 13th May, Justine Lewis and a team of friends will be attempting to climb Cavehill - a challenging 1,207ft peak just outside Belfast.

Justine was diagnosed with PP after the birth of her baby in 2019, and due to the lack of MBU in NI, she was separated from her newborn for 12 days. She is undertaking this challenge to raise awareness of the need for an MBU in the area.

You can add your support for Justine here.

Then, later in the month, Shelley Browne and a group of friends will be running 5k at Stormont to highlight the fact that 1 in 5 women will experience some form of mental health issue in the postnatal period.

Shelley had PP in 2021 and really wants to raise awareness of the need for an MBU in NI. She says: 'I truly believe with this facility, my treatment would of been less traumatic and I would have not have needed to be separated from my baby so early on.'

Support Shelley and her team here.

Not only are our NI APP volunteers getting out and about fundraising for us this year, they're also helping to raise awareness of PP:

Tara helps to raise awareness in Garvargh

On Wednesday 22nd March, one of our Northern Ireland based APP volunteers arranged for an awareness-raising session at a local Women’s Group she attends. She didn’t want to talk about her own experiences with PP herself, as not everyone is comfortable or finds it helpful to do that, which is fine. So, working with APP's events and fundraising staff, she invited along another local APP volunteer who very bravely talked to the group about her experiences of PP.

Staff from APP HQ also zoomed in to the session to explain more generally about PP, the work of APP and the need for an MBU in Northern Ireland. The Women’s Group, which included both local women and health & social care professionals, were very interested and moved to hear the first-hand account of a real women’s experience of PP, as many were previously unaware of the condition.

Very positive feedback was received from the group:

“…she is a brave young woman, speaking out to help others. Thank you.”

“Very brave lady to be able to talk about everything she has been through. Can’t have been easy to do that”

“…she was lovely and very good at speaking about her experience.”

“…she definitely was very good and spoke well, and we got a lot of knowledge about this condition.”

“…it’s such a hard thing to talk about. It’s helped me understand a lot better and what to keep an eye out for.”

“…she is amazing and to be able to come and speak about her experiences so honestly will truly help women as there is still stigma around mental health.”

The local health visitor and social worker were invited to the session and already are asking if further sessions can be put on around the area for other teams of professionals and women around Northern Ireland.

****

If you'd like to find out more about raising awareness or fundraising in Northern Ireland, or accessing our peer support group, please contact app@app-network.org 

Miles for Mums and Babies 2023!

A big shout out to everyone who has signed up for our Miles for Mums and Babies challenge so far! We’ve got more people than ever before ready to run, walk, swim and cycle hundreds of miles to raise awareness of PP and funds for APP.

Fundraisers all over the UK are taking part – here’s just a little taste of what’s going on during May…

In Scotland, Alice in Dundee (pictured right) will be swimming 71km in 28 days, and Hazel in Perthshire will be cycling 65 miles in a single day later this month.

In Wales the BCUHB perinatal mental health team in North Wales who have a team of 18 aiming to cover 154 miles during May; Laura in Cardiff who is planning to walk 50 miles over the month; and Heidi, a perinatal mental health nurse in Monmouthshire who is taking on a huge 1400 miles by the end of 2023 to represent the number of women who experience PP each year.

We’re delighted to have lots going on in Northern Ireland too, with Justine and Shelley getting friends and family on board to take part in their hiking and running challenges.

And across England there are individuals and teams taking part in all sorts of different ways, including…

Jennifer Dawson who’s taking on TWO challenges – one walking 26 miles with her husband Lee and another with her Rattle and Rhyme group – who'll be getting together to toddle 5k!

Jenny and Lee aren’t the only husband and wife team working together to reach a Miles for Mums and Babies target though, we also have Hannah and Ryan in Leeds planning to walk and run 156 miles - 120 miles for the distance their family travelled to the MBU and 36 miles for each day Hannah was in the unit; and Georgina and Chris who are aiming for 108 miles - the distance to and from their nearest MBU.

Most of those taking part have chosen a number of miles that has a meaning to them - Natalie (pictured right) has chosen to walk 60 miles as that represents the distance to and from her home and the MBU she spent time in - the journey her husband had to make to be able to come and see her and their baby.

Rebecca (pictured top) is planning a mammoth 43 mile walk in a single day, with the aim of raising £2400 - the number of mums who will have been diagnosed with PP in the two years since she herself was diagnosed. And she's very close to her huge target goal already!

We’re also really delighted to have the Blue Minds and BleepKind network involved this year, taking on an epic 318 mile challenge, which is already underway!

And having whole teams getting on board is just wonderful - including the Leicester Partnership Trust Perinatal Mental Health Team who are doing a mix of walking, running and swimming; and the Margaret Oates MBU in Nottingham who will be walking, pushing buggies, toddling, running, cycling and even getting their four legged furry friends involved to reach 318 miles (which is the distance from the most westerly MBU in the UK to the most easterly).

And this isn't even everyone who has planned to get involved - we'll keep posting updates throughout the month.  A HUGE thank you to everyone who has signed up so far and to everyone who has supported them already.

It's never too late to get involved in you'd still like to, just email fundraising@app-network.org and we'll send you a free Miles for Mums and Babies pack.

22 December 2022

Nicola’s story: "I had to leave my dream job to look after our baby."

My partner, Arina, was only in the MBU for a couple of months when she was discharged. It wasn’t that she was well enough to come home, it was because they said she wasn’t making any progress. Our baby had already been discharged, and I had taken time off work to be a full-time parent. But then when Arina came home as well, I realised that there was no more support available to us and I had to leave my job as an ambulance care assistant – something I had worked so hard for.

It was December when Arina gave birth to our daughter. I hadn’t realised that there was anything wrong at first. Our baby cried a lot, and we were told she had reflux so Arina was naturally anxious and, because I’ve got three older children, I just put it down to it being early days.

Arina had struggled with mental health problems prior to giving birth, and she had been diagnosed with BPD (borderline personality disorder) which is a serious mental health issue that can cause overwhelming, distressing and changeable emotions.

When I was due to return to work after our baby daughter was born, Arina mentioned that she was feeling really anxious. It was New Year’s Day and, because I was expected in work on the 2nd, I contacted Arina’s sister who lived a couple of hours’ drive away to ask if she’d come and stay, which she did. However, she contacted me at work saying she was concerned about Arina who was really struggling and distressed, and she suggested she could take the baby for a couple of nights so that we could get Arina some help.

I reluctantly agreed, and we contacted the crisis team, who came out to see Arina but they weren’t very helpful – simply suggesting that she take a bath, have a cup of tea and get some sleep. But the problem was she couldn’t sleep. And I could see that she was incredibly vulnerable.

We were due a visit from our health visitor so I collected our daughter from Arina’s sister and brought her home. I was at work on the day of the visit, but they called me and said I needed to come home otherwise they would need to remove our daughter. They felt that it was unsafe to leave Arina and the baby alone as they suspected Arina had postpartum psychosis. I went straight home as they tried to find an MBU to get the care Arina clearly needed. However, it was a real struggle because the crisis team maintained that she didn’t need help.

Eventually, we managed to get Arina in to see the GP – she was incredibly anxious by this point. The GP agreed that Arina needed help and, the following day, we finally got the call saying that she could be admitted to the MBU.

Because of Covid, I literally had to drop Arina and my daughter at the MBU door, which was heartbreaking. Leaving your partner and daughter, not knowing how they might settle in or where they were going to sleep, was really difficult. I had also developed a really strong bond with our baby so it was difficult being separated from her as well having previously spent 24 hours a day with her.

The MBU was about a 45 minute drive away from our home as well, so I was having to work full time and travel every day for the one hour a day visit, and it was emotionally and physically draining.

After about a month, I was shocked when the MBU suggested our daughter should come home with me. Arina had mentioned that the MBU staff were still carrying out most of our daughter’s care, and they suggested that Arina needed some time on her own. I was worried because I needed to work to bring the money in, and also because I thought Arina should have the opportunity to bond with our daughter.

I arranged time off work, thinking it was just for a few days but, as time went on, nothing was mentioned about any plans for our daughter to return to the MBU. I was taking her back and forth every day to see Arina and then looking after her the rest of the time on my own.

I had been working with the Ambulance Trust and had only just started the job in the October, so I was devastated at having to take so much time off. Eventually, I was told by the MBU that Arina needed to be referred to an adult psychiatric ward for further treatment but that they couldn’t find a bed, so she would need to come home. We were told at that point that we would get some childcare support to enable me to go back to work part time but nothing materialised.

So, after two months in the MBU, Arina was also home, and I left my job and had to claim benefits to keep us going. Arina applied for PIP (Personal Independence Payment) but that was eight months ago and we still haven’t got it so we are relying on basic benefits – other than £5 a week for baby class. We just feel as though we have been left completely on our own.

It’s quite difficult, as a same sex couple, to access support because everything for partners seemed to be targeted at ‘dads’ or ‘fathers’. I couldn’t see anything that felt it might include me. However, during a conversation with an old friend who I discovered had herself been in an MBU, she told me that she’d seen a story on the APP website about a same-sex couple so I had a look straight away and reached out to Ellie from the peer support team.

Since meeting Ellie, I’ve been put in touch with another female couple and we’ve been in contact regularly, texting back and forth, and it’s been a lifeline. It’s just so good to have someone you can actually relate to.

There are still challenges we are facing because of our situation though. For example, because I’m not on the birth certificate I have to adopt our daughter, so being classed as a full-time parent I currently have the responsibility but not the legal rights, so I can’t even open a bank account for her or register her with a nursery. This is really tough because Arina is still struggling with her mental health as well. And, on the flip side, the social workers have told us that, once I adopt my daughter, they will no longer be able to support us at all – so it feels like a lose-lose situation.

The thing that keeps me going, however, is reading the stories of others, and speaking to Ellie and the couple that APP put me in touch with. While everyone’s experience is different and unique, there is always something you can relate to. It makes such a difference knowing that you’re not alone.

 

9 November 2022

Ruth’s story: We had to travel from Spain to Scotland during lockdown to access an MBU

We’d been living in Spain for over ten years when I fell pregnant. My husband, Jamie, worked away a lot on an oil rig but we had a good network, had planned for Jamie to be home for a couple of months around the birth and the pregnancy was really straightforward. I felt lucky.

Our son was born in the September, and, when Jamie returned to work in the December, I made a return trip home to Ireland to visit family with our new baby.

While I was in Belfast I started struggling with bad joint pain. I’d had arthritis as a young child but hadn’t had any problems for years so it was a bit of a shock. I ended up in A&E and it made breastfeeding and holding my son really uncomfortable too. I was in so much agony.

When I got back home I got some treatment for the arthritis and everything seemed to settle back down. My baby was sleeping well, Jamie was working in Norway, everything felt like it was going to be fine.

Then, by the middle of February, I suddenly stopped sleeping and began panicking about everything going wrong – thinking that Jamie, might lose his job, worrying that there was something wrong with our son. I made the rash decision to move our son into his own room, and I would spend whole nights just staring at the baby monitor and listening to the buzz of it.

My mum came to stay and she remembers that I was just pacing the flat saying things like our lives are falling apart; there’s something wrong with the baby; he’s not well; he’ll be taken off us and I’ll be put in jail.

I went to the health centre and got an emergency appt with the nurse who prescribed diazepam to calm me down. It was around the time of lockdown so when I needed to go back it was a different nurse that I saw. The second time I was prescribed antidepressants, too.

Jamie was away at the time and I was continually phoning my best friend and cousin because I needed someone to listen. I was convinced there was something wrong with the baby, and I began struggling with breastfeeding and then bottle feeding – getting myself into this vicious cycle of feeling like I couldn’t feed my baby at all.

My friend was concerned and she made an appointment with a psychologist at the nearby clinic. I remember taking my notebook with me because I was writing down pages and pages of numbers and dates relating to my baby and his feeding patterns and routines.

Back at home, I would just lay down on the floor and cry and I was having regular panic attacks. But outside of the home, I was doing all of the right things – trying to feed him, dressing him. It probably all seemed fairly normal on the outside but in the background I was panicking, not sleeping, not eating and obsessing over my baby.

The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital…

Apparently, one morning, around 4 or 5am, I’d left the flat, left the door open, with my baby asleep and my mum sleeping on the sofa. I had no shoes on and I got into my car. I drove along the motorway and parked my car on the hard shoulder and got out. What happened after that was devastating. The only thing I can remember is someone saying quick get her a blanket. Then I remember waking up in a hospital.

I’d walked out in front of a lorry. Luckily, I survived. I had some very deep cuts, some bad injuries and I needed stitches in my head. I had some deep wounds on my foot and scars all over my back.

It does cross my mind from time to time about how the driver is today. It must have been such a huge trauma for him and I truly hope he has he recovered from it.

I was quickly transferred to the psych ward where I was sat outside in a wheel chair, covered in blood. We were waiting hours and hours for the psych team to assess me. They eventually decided to admit me and I was taken into a shared room where my family had to leave me due to lockdown rules.

My family were looking after my son and Jamie, who was working in Mexico at the time, flew back home. Meanwhile I was in the psych ward, unable to shower properly because I couldn’t get my injuries wet, feeling as though I was in a prison, with no furnishings or comfortable surroundings and unbelievably tall walls with barbed wire so nobody could escape.

I don’t feel I received particularly good treatment while I was there. And I remember another girl who was in there suggesting I start to write things down to keep track of the doctors I was speaking to and the meds I was put on. When my sister and Jamie came in to see me I saw a psychiatrist who granted me permission to go home under my husband’s care.

We then went into full lockdown and my husband had to try to look after both me and our son at the same time. I think he has so much strength to have been able to put up with what I now know was absolutely shocking and both terrifying behaviour.

The team of psychiatrists would come to our house twice a week and I had some zoom calls with my psychologist during lockdown. They were trying to find the right combination of meds for me but apparently they weren’t working and they suggested I go back to the psych ward without my baby – and of course no visitors were allowed because of lockdown, so I really didn’t want to go back there.

One of my friends in the UK who worked in health contacted Jamie because she had found my messages really concerning. She had heard about Mother and Baby Units in the UK and Jamie, who’s Scottish, got in touch with APP to find out more and then made contact with an MBU in Glasgow. They said I could be admitted.

Jamie had to drive us all from Spain to Calais and then to a friend’s in Cumbria before reaching Stirling, where he immediately got me an emergency doctor’s appointment. By that point my paranoia and symptoms were so bad the doctor called an ambulance and I was immediately admitted to the MBU with my baby.

Because I’d come from Spain I had to have ten days in isolation, so Jamie went back to work to bring in some money because nobody was allowed to visit me anyway.

I ended up spending five months in the MBU. I was admitted in the May, and discharged in the October.

I remember in the MBU there were quite big rooms and we had our own bathrooms, a nice play area and garden with picnic benches and windmills. They organised things like crafts, cookery and pram walks which I enjoyed, and I remember me and one of the other girls used to make apple crumbles.

Unfortunately, because I still didn’t seem to be improving, I had to have ECT. I was so nervous and I appealed it but Jamie gave permission because he thought it was my only chance of getting better.

The doctor I saw before each ECT session was so lovely, I remember he always reassured me. I never got to know his name and I’ve always wanted to thank him for his kindness. I had 18 ECT treatments in total. The only thing I complained about was having a sore head, but apparently that’s quite common.

When my son was due to turn one, however, the MBU had to plan my discharge, because they were only funded to look after mums with babies less than a year old. I started going to my in-laws’ house on weekends and eventually was recovered enough to have a full discharge. However, I caught Covid, so we had to isolate in an Air BnB for a while which was really tough. Eventually, we made it back to Spain in a far better position than we had been when we left.

I’m still on medication today, but just a low dose of antidepressants. I’ve stopped the antipsychotics and things are slowly getting back to some kind of normality.

My son started going to nursery and he’s picking up both Spanish and English, which makes me so proud. And I went back to work in the September of 2021, so I had time to get back into normal life, start exercising again and focusing on me.

Looking back, it was a very scary and intense period, especially with it all happening during lockdown. But now Jamie and I are out the other side, we are both really keen to raise awareness, because nobody in my family had even heard of PP before I was diagnosed.

I’ve trained to be a peer supporter with APP, so I can share my experience and hope with other families who are going through what we did. I know that when Jamie first spoke with APP’s peer support lead, Ellie, when I was really ill, it made such a difference so I hope that we can now pass on that support. Just knowing that someone else has been where you are and come out the other side makes all the difference.

 

28 April 2022

Anneka’s story: "The mother and baby unit was incredible, I owe my life to them".

In March 2021 I gave birth to a perfect little boy called Ralph and my family was complete.

I had a very easy pregnancy and loved every minute of it, I couldn’t wait to be a Mum.  After a short stay in hospital because Ralph had an infection, it was time to come home. Looking back I wasn’t right from the moment I got home but we just thought it was an extended set of the ‘baby blues’ - as did the midwife who came to see me.

Shortly after being home I was terrified someone was going to take my baby from me, that the house had to be tidy and if it wasn’t something really bad was going to happen.
I couldn’t remember anything and had to carry a notepad with me at all times to write down everything I had to do or had already done, from Ralph’s feeds to nappy changes.

The final straw for my husband and family to intervene was when I started to open presents and cards and couldn’t remember who anybody was.

My husband, Laurence, decided I needed medical attention ASAP but there was no chance I was going back into hospital and leaving Ralph. He told me I had a water infection and just needed to go in for some antibiotics so I agreed. Getting me into the hospital was very difficult as, by this time, I couldn’t remember anything about Covid and didn’t understand why I needed to wear a mask. I was taken straight to A&E where I was asked a series of questions which I couldn’t answer, including which day it was and who the prime minister was. By this point I had started to hallucinate and thought that every doctor was against me. The police were nearby with another patient and seeing them made me think that they were going to section me.

I ended up staying in hospital for a few days having all sorts of tests to rule out anything medically wrong with me before the psychiatric team would get involved. By this point my husband had found out about postpartum psychosis and that the best place for me would be a mother and baby unit.

By now I was very unwell and believed that I, and the midwife looking after me, had been arrested for committing a terrorist attack on the hospital. Every nurse or doctor that came to see me I thought was a member of my family or friends. Laurence was bringing in Ralph everyday so we could continue to bond, but by this point I thought Ralph had died so this became quite stressful. I believed my room was under surveillance and armed police were outside my room. When my Mum came to see me I thought our meeting was being broadcast on national TV. It all seemed so real.

The day before my 30th birthday I was transferred by ambulance to a mother and baby unit.

The first few days in the mother and baby unit I didn’t speak, I spent my 30th birthday mainly in my room believing I was still under arrest and my room was a prison cell. By this point the radio had started speaking to me and I couldn’t watch the TV because I believed that it was still covering the terrorist attack I’d committed. The staff were incredibly patient and understanding.

I was extremely lucky to get a place at a mother and baby unit close to home and my husband visited us every day. I remember so clearly asking him when we first arrived “How long will I be here?” to which he replied “it normally takes 6-8 weeks for people to recover.”
3 months, a relapse and being put under section later we finally returned home.

The mother and baby unit was incredible, I owe my life to them.

Without them who knows what would have happened. Every member of staff helped myself and Ralph bond through my recovery and supported my whole family. I also made some friends for life in the other mums that I speak to most days now. We were thrown together and have all been through such an experience together, I will be forever grateful for them.

I remain on medication for my diagnoses and am currently being supported by the wonderful Perinatal Mental Health team and the Early Intervention for Psychosis team who I see every other week.

Postpartum psychosis is scary and can affect anyone, including me who had no mental health problems in the past. My advice for anyone experiencing it now is, you will get better, take the support and treatment given to you. It’s helped me to put life into perspective and know what’s important. I’m not angry it happened to me, it’s part of who I am and now I want to give back to all the people who helped me recover.