Tag Archives: Northern Ireland

5 August 2025

Rory’s story: It was supposed to be the best year of our lives but we ended up living apart for five months

2023 was supposed to be the best year of our lives, having our first child in Spring and getting married at Christmas time.

Within 12 weeks we went from the feeling of reassurance that the 20 week scan gave us, to living apart for nearly five months when Megan was admitted to a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) following a mental health crisis.

I'd heard of the baby blues and postnatal depression but I'd never heard of postpartum psychosis (PP), which happens in around 1-2 in 1000 pregnancies. I also didn't know the most common cause of death of women within a year of having a child was suicide, a risk I didn't think we would be managing after becoming parents for the first time.

While PP most often occurs following birth, our case was slightly different and things started to go wrong while Megan was still pregnant. She became more and more anxious about the pregnancy, worrying that something awful was happening and that she couldn't feel any movement. We were visiting A&E regularly, being sent for yet another scan, waiting for hours to be told everything was fine and being asked if this was our first child. People suggesting we were worrying for no reason became our norm.

However, we were told she didn’t meet the threshold for perinatal mental health support when we finally got an assessment. This cycle went on for weeks with Megan's anxiety becoming worse by the day, and her severe sleep issues led to stronger delusional beliefs. It was only when Megan became suicidal that I feel like we were finally listened to.

At 32 weeks pregnant she was sectioned. It was awful for her and I will never forget the sadness in her eyes as I had to say goodbye. As difficult as that was I knew that her safety, and our unborn child were the priority. A few weeks later, our beautiful son was born prematurely and he spent some time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, while I spent my days visiting him in one part of the hospital and Megan in the other. Three weeks later was the first sign of hope I had, as Oscar was discharged and able to move to the MBU to be with his mummy, and supported by the most wonderful nursery team who looked after my family outside of visiting hours and when I returned to work.

Coming back to an empty flat for the best part of five months broke my heart but mums and their babies need each other and that's one of the reasons MBUs exist. Sadly, there still isn't enough of them across the UK and none at all in Northern Ireland where we planned to have our children. I spent a lot of time researching postpartum psychosis and finding the stories on APP’s website and forum gave me hope - as did the MBU staff reassuring me that "she will get better".

A photo of a young boy with blonde hair and beige short-sleeved shirt — Rory and Megan's son, Oscar

When Megan and Oscar came home I told myself if I could get through those months, everything else would be a breeze. And whilst things slowly got better, my personal resilience was shot, just as I was finally feeling like a proper dad for the first time and not relying on hospital staff. In truth the last year and a half has not been easy as Megan continued to recover at home, and we have both had our mental health challenges.

Megan continued to engage in the professional services even when she didn’t want to. Her hard work, support from our family who visited regularly, our patience for each other and the love of the most amazing little human have got us to where we are now. Now we are looking forward and building memories as a family and have a lot be thankful for. Sadly not everyone makes it this far, but those who access the support we have are able to have a much better chance.

Seeing how far Megan has come in the last 6 months makes me proud. She kept a lot of her feelings and experiences inside as there is a lot of stigma associated with mental illness, but she has come through that and no longer feels shame. She has now shared her experiences openly with friends and family, many of whom had no idea what she went through, as well as social media, and that's what's inspired me to write this.

The work of APP is critical in raising awareness including their campaign to open Northern Ireland’s first MBU, and educating medical professionals in maternal mental health. For anyone reading this who is going through something similar, don’t lose hope as things really can get better.

3 June 2025

Urgent need for an NI Mother and Baby Unit under the Spotlight: APP says funding is urgent to save lives

Media release: 3rd June 2025
For immediate release

Today’s BBC Spotlight investigation into perinatal mental health care in Northern Ireland shows just how urgently a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is needed to save lives and prevent life-long trauma, national charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) says.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without an MBU, a specialist inpatient mental health treatment centre where mothers can be admitted with their babies for care and treatment. Instead, mums are admitted to acute psychiatric wards for non-specialist treatment, separating them from their babies.

APP estimates that around 100 women a year will require hospital admission for severe mental illness in the year after birth, including about 35 with postpartum psychosis, a severe and life-threatening mental illness that can develop suddenly. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in Northern Ireland.

While APP welcomed the announcement more than six months ago that Belfast Trust will take forward plans for NI’s first MBU, we are concerned that we still haven’t seen ring-fenced funding, a firm timeline, and interim measures.

Dr Jess Heron, Chief Executive of Action on Postpartum Psychosis said:

“Tonight we heard from mums and their families who urgently need better mental health care. It’s a story APP hears all the time from the mums who attend our postpartum psychosis Northern Ireland peer support group who, like Shelley, have been separated from their babies and admitted to psychiatric inpatient wards for treatment.

“And too often we hear the stories of tragedy, with lives lost - a story we all heard tonight from Siobhan Graham about her daughter Orlaith Quinn.

“We’ve waited 16 years since Michelle O’Neil and the Stormont Health Committee agreed that Northern Ireland needs a Mother and Baby Unit, but only now are we seeing real plans for this to progress. And we keep waiting. We have a site chosen, but there still isn’t a business plan. The Minister has told the Assembly he hopes to greenlight it this calendar year, but we need a commitment that this will happen.

“We are concerned that in reality, it could be many years until an MBU opens. Years when women continue to be separated from their babies for treatment by non-specialists; where they don’t receive appropriate physical care in the weeks after giving birth; where they miss out on vital bonding with the baby; and where families struggle to provide care for babies. Years in which women continue to die by suicide because they aren’t getting the care and treatment they need.

“We’re cautious about calling for interim measures, as there is always a risk that what should be short-term solutions become long-term, or even permanent. But there needs to be a plan while we wait; we know there are women dying, and being needlessly traumatised in non-specialist units.

“Spotlight visited the Exeter MBU which is a great example not just of how an MBU supports recovery while keeping mum and baby together, but is also an example of how an interim unit has been just that – not ideal, but a safe and appropriate space where mums can be with their babies while they recover from severe postpartum mental illness while a permanent unit is built.”

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Liz Morrison on 07711 558 296, liz.morrison@me.com / Lucy Nichol on 07771 967 032, lucy@app-network.org

Anyone affected by postpartum psychosis, now or many years ago, can access support from APP, including an NI Peer Support Group for mothers who have experienced it at any time. Email app@app-network.org for more information. For more information on postpartum psychosis and support available go to www.app-network.org

Background

Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that doesn’t have a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU), which provides specialist inpatient care for mums experiencing severe postnatal illness and their babies. Instead, mothers are admitted to general acute psychiatric wards for non-specialist treatment, separating them from babies.

An MBU provides specialist care for both mum and baby. Mental health teams with specialist training are able to provide the best care, for example: prescribing drugs that are suitable for use in the perinatal period; supporting the mother-infant relationship and the development of parenting skills; providing adequate postpartum physical care and appropriate facilities (such as nappy changing, milk fridges, play areas, safe places for older siblings to visit).

One in 5 women will experience mental health problems during pregnancy or after birth. Around 1000 women each year in Northern Ireland will develop a severe postnatal illness. This can include postpartum psychosis, severe depression and anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Between 84 and 122 will need admission to hospital. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death, but with the right care is almost always preventable.

Postpartum mental health problems, in particular postpartum psychosis, can come on and escalate very quickly. This is not rare. The charity, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, who run a peer support group for women in NI who have experienced PP, estimates that 35 women in NI will develop the illness each year. While women with bipolar disorder are more likely to develop postpartum psychosis, 50% of cases are ‘out of the blue’, to women who have experienced no previous mental health problems.

The risk was highlighted at the 2022 inquest into the tragic death of Orlaith Quinn, who took her own life on a maternity ward while experiencing postpartum psychosis. The Coroner called for an MBU in NI.

According to the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, suicide was the leading cause of maternal death in the first year after birth in the UK.

Facts about postpartum psychosis

Episodes of severe mental illness, such as mania or psychosis, follow 1-2 in 1,000 deliveries.
In Northern Ireland, around 35 women a year experience postpartum psychosis.
An average-sized maternity unit would see 8-10 cases of rapid-onset psychosis following childbirth in a year. Around 1,400 cases occur each year in the UK.
Postpartum Psychosis is a devastating illness for mothers and families.
It strikes at a time when families are full of expectation. Mothers feel loss, guilt, and responsibility for missing out on the early months of motherhood. Fathers become responsible for a newborn or are separated from their families. They do not know if their partners will fully recover.
Postpartum Psychosis can occur in women from all social classes, occupations, and educational backgrounds. Often, it occurs 'out of the blue' to women without any previous psychiatric history.
The stakes are high if the illness is not identified sufficiently early, or is poorly managed, both in terms of maternal outcome (including risk of suicide) and child outcome (including rare and tragic cases of infanticide).
According to The Confidential Enquiries into Maternal and Child Health (MBRRACE-UK https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk), suicide is the leading cause of maternal deaths. Half of these suicides occur in mothers suffering the acute onset of psychotic illness. Completed suicides are the tip of the iceberg in terms of ‘near miss’ events occurring to women who develop Postpartum Psychosis.
Postpartum Psychosis is eminently treatable, but services must respond quickly and appropriately to these psychiatric emergencies. Episodes have a rapid onset, usually within days of delivery, and may escalate to full-blown psychosis quickly - within hours or days.
Although episodes of Postpartum Psychosis are among the most severe illnesses seen in clinical practice, Postpartum Psychosis also has one of the best prognoses.
Acute symptoms are similar to those of bipolar disorder and may include: extreme elation or euphoria, rapid mood changes, or depressed mood; the rapid onset of unusual beliefs; visual and auditory hallucinations; extreme confusion; and behaviour can be very bizarre. Episodes can be very frightening for women and their families.
The causes of Postpartum Psychosis are unknown, but the dramatic hormonal and biological changes that occur at childbirth are thought to be involved. There is some evidence of a genetic component to the illness and of a link with bipolar disorder. One in 4 women with a history of bipolar disorder experience Postpartum Psychosis following childbirth.
The majority of women are substantially recovered within a few months, but full recovery and coming to terms with the illness may take 12 months or longer.
Recovery is a difficult and lengthy process. Factors that contribute to these difficulties include: limited availability of information about Postpartum Psychosis and recovery; isolation caused by lack of visible others who have experienced the illness; poor awareness in the general public and media; the stigma associated with experiencing mental illness - particularly at this time when women have high hopes of new motherhood; difficulties coming to terms with behaviour during the illness; limited availability of specialist psychological and practical support following admission to facilitate coming to terms with the episode, looking after a baby, rebuilding relationships, and mothering confidence.
Misguided portrayals in the media can contribute to mothers' feelings of isolation and to difficulties in discussing their experiences with other mothers. Often, when women or their partners search the internet for information about their illness, alarmist stories about mothers harming their babies are the first they encounter.
Postpartum Psychosis is not simply a more severe form of postnatal depression. In fact, many mothers with Postpartum Psychosis do not experience any symptoms of depression at all; rather, they experience extreme elation, spirituality, confusion, and quickly lose contact with reality. The majority of women, therefore, are unable to seek help for themselves, and others must obtain help for them.

21 May 2025

DayDot launches new maternal mental health planner with APP

We're delighted to have worked in partnership with DayDot to develop a beautiful maternal mental health planner - a gentle, reflective, supportive space designed to support new parents through the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

DayDot is a journal company created in 2023 by husband and wife team Chris and Tara from Northern Ireland. Tara is part of the APP network and their journey began after Tara was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis following the birth of her second child in 2021.

During her illness Tara says she clung to her journal, writing everything down. However, as her recovery progressed, she found it difficult to continue journaling, a practice she had maintained since 2008. She tried bullet journaling and planners with daily prompts, but none of them seemed to be the right fit for her. She felt the creativity was either too much or not enough, and the structure was too rigid, and for her, missing a day would ruin the entire week! Chris and Tara wanted a solution that would allow the user to take days off, focus on manageable tasks, and emphasise the positivity of each day. They decided to create DayDot Journals, a unique blend of structure and flexibility, which aim to empower users to make the most of their time while nurturing their creativity and well-being.

Tara says:

"APP were there for me when I didn’t believe I could ever feel happy again. I wouldn’t be here without them. This planner is my thank you — and a promise to other mums that they're not alone."

Created in collaboration with DayDot Journals and Action on Postpartum Psychosis, all profits from this planner go directly to APP — helping fund vital support for families experiencing postpartum psychosis.

The planner is aimed not just at those who have experienced postpartum psychosis, but for any mother navigating the emotional landscape of early motherhood.

They can be purchased directly from DayDot, and are available with the maternal mental health planner, or simply with a plain lined or dot grid paper interior.

7 July 2023

Read APP's July 2023 newsletter

Health professional training

New dates announced! Book on to APP’s health professionals training in postpartum psychosis (PP) and stay up to date with best practice care.

Supporting dads and co-parents affected by postpartum psychosis
This half day online workshop, led by Dr Sally Wilson and APP Partners Coordinator Simon O’Mara, is informed by real life experiences of dads and co-parents whose partners have experienced postpartum psychosis. At the end of the workshop: you will have an up-to-date knowledge of the research into the impact of PP on partners; understand the needs of dads and co-parents; and have learned about strategies and interventions to improve support.
Friday 14th July / Zoom
10am - 12.30pm BST
£99
Find out more & book: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/app-training-supporting-dads-and-coparents-tickets-648045761317

Best practice care in postpartum psychosis
This one-day online course draws upon cutting-edge research in postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder and is informed by the experiences of women and families. The course will develop knowledge, understanding, and confidence in managing this severe form of postnatal mental illness.
Wednesday 15th November / Zoom
Full day training
Early bird (to 31st July) £165, full price £195
Find out more & book: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/app-training-managing-postpartum-psychosis-for-health-professionals-tickets-496307337607

Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide
The Alex Baish Memorial Lecture: a free webinar for GPs, midwives, antenatal educators and frontline health professionals
Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in the UK and rates are increasing nationally. This free lunchtime webinar aimed at frontline health professionals will outline the actions needed to support and protect women who develop the condition. The webinar will include a Q&A session with APP’s clinical, academic and lived experience experts.
Wednesday 18^th October / Zoom
12pm – 1.30pm BST
Free
Register your interest at: training@app-network.org

Supporting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families affected by postpartum psychosis
This new online session led by APP’s National Training Coordinator, Dr Sally Wilson, and APP’s Diverse Communities Outreach Team, will focus on supporting women and families from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who develop postpartum psychosis. By the end of the session, you will have knowledge of the support and information needs of women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities; and have considered strategies to remove barriers and improve care.
Thursday 16th November / Zoom
12pm – 2.30pm BST
£99
Find out more & book: www.eventbrite.com/e/supporting-black-asian-and-ethnic-minority-families-affected-by-pp-tickets-671354869487

Northern Ireland campaigning update

In Northern Ireland we’re waiting for news of the next step for a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). We campaigned hard last year for public, professional and government support for the unit. The government strategic review due in the spring has been delayed until summer and we’ve heard that’s because all five Health Trusts were keen for it to be in their area.

With no Government in Northern Ireland, and no Health Minister, even when a Trust is chosen to develop a business case, nothing can be done. But we’re not going to let an MBU fall off the agenda.

We’ve got plans to lobby when politicians are back from their summer break, and we’re staying in touch with journalists who have reported on this before.

We’ve got three questions we need answered:

What’s the timeline for building and opening an MBU?
What’s the budget and where will the money come from?
What is going to be done for mums who need admission in the meantime?

To really make our case, we need support from women in Northern Ireland who’ve experienced postpartum psychosis. We know it’s much harder to ignore people who have real stories to tell, so we’re reaching out to anyone who is prepared to talk to media - even anonymously - or to talk to an MLA about their experience.

Please also get in touch if you used to live in Northern Ireland and had access to an MBU elsewhere in the UK that you wouldn’t have had at home - we’d love you to share your story. APP volunteer, Tara, recently shared her experience of postpartum psychosis (PP) in this podcast.

We’ll support you through the process. Even if you don’t feel certain about talking, you can give us a call to discuss it. Get in touch with Ellie here.

It’s just not fair that women have to leave Northern Ireland to get the help that’s available in all other parts of the UK, and we’re determined to change that.

#MumBabyTogetherNI

We are recruiting

APP is recruiting casual Peer Support Worker(s) to join our innovative collaborative project with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust providing peer support to inpatients at Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit (MBU).

We’re looking for people with lived experience of postpartum psychosis to help support women, one-to-one and through small group activities, at the MBU. Peer Support Workers also spend time talking to partners and families of women during the acute illness phase, sharing information, giving hope and signposting to APP’s online support, community forum, and information. Part of the role will be spent helping to run monthly café groups in the Birmingham area and - working in collaboration with Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust - at various locations around that region. You don’t need to have experience of peer supporting. Training will be provided.

Full details of how to apply for the role are on our website. The application deadline is midnight on 21^st August 2023.

Scotland Mother and Baby Unit petition

We know that some mums in Scotland who suffer from postpartum psychosis are treated in general psychiatric wards away from their baby and family.

There are currently only two specialist Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in Scotland based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

APP believes every family affected by PP should have access to specialist care. MBU beds accessible to women in the North of Scotland are vital.

You can help us by adding your name to this petition, developed by Lesley, one of our Scotland volunteers, which is currently under consideration by the Scottish Government. Adding your name will help the Scottish government understand how strongly we feel about access to specialist care – and keeping mums and babies together: https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE2017

#KeepMumsAndBabiesTogether

Celebrating Perinatal event

On 24th May, APP attended the "Celebrating Perinatal" event, organised by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust. It was a wonderful occasion to celebrate all the work done in the region over recent years, and to look back to the start of services in the North Staffs area in the 1980s.

APP’s Hannah Bissett, National NHS Contracts Coordinator, Jo Derry, Black Country Peer Support Facilitator, and Jenny Stevenson, National Online Peer Support Coordinator joined Dr Giles Berrisford, APP's Chair of Trustees, who gave a national update on the progress of perinatal services as Specialty Advisor PMH for NHS England. Hannah is pictured above with Harriet Lambah-Heap (ward manager at Brockington Parent & Baby Unit).

Color Obstacle Rush

On Saturday, June 17th, a group of 12 APP staff and families (pictured above) from the north west took part in the Color Rush at Manchester. It was such a fun event consisting of lots of coloured powder, foam, giant inflatable obstacles and maybe some running.
As a group, they managed to raise £1,086. There is still a chance to donate here.
We are thinking of doing this again next year and there are various locations all over the world! So please get in touch with fundraising@app-network.org if you’d be interested.

Professor Louise Howard, OBE

Congratulations to Professor Louise Howard who was awarded an OBE in the first King’s Birthday Honours last month for services to women's mental health.

Louise is Professor Emerita in Women’s Mental Health at King’s College London. Her research programmes aim to improve mental health service policy and practice for women. She led research that informed the updated NICE guideline on how to identify and treat perinatal mental illness and her work has also informed pregnancy planning tools commissioned by NHS England and Public Health England.

Fabulous fundraisers

Our amazing supporter Lee Smith is continuing his epic 12 month, 12 challenge fundraiser. He’s already taken part in several running events, including a back-to-back Total Warrior event followed by the Great Run 10k, he’s also climbed Scarfell Pike, run 5k a day for a month and just last month, he and his wife Jess climbed Ben Nevis. To mark their joint achievement, their daughter made them this beautiful book as a present – she’s so proud of them and we are too. Add your support to Lee’s incredible campaign here.

Ultra Event!

We have our first APP ultra runner in action this weekend! Michael Henderson-Sowersby is taking on the mammoth 100km ‘Race to the Stones’ on 8^th July, raising money for APP in memory of his school friend Alex Baish, and for another charity close to his heart - Devizes & District Opportunity Centre. Find out more about his epic training efforts and add your support here . Good luck, Michael!

Miles for Mums and Babies

Another huge thank you to everyone who took part in our Miles for Mums and Babies challenge this year – donations are still coming in and challenges are still underway, but already our amazing fundraisers and their supporters have raised more than £20,000! This will have such an incredible impact on the work we can do supporting mums and families. Thank you so much. You can read more about our Miles for Mums and Babies adventures here.

Looking for your next challenge?

There are dozens of running events going on this October all over the country – half marathons in cities including Oxford, Glasgow, Manchester, Portsmouth and London (including the beautiful Royal Parks Half); full marathons in Chester and York, 10 milers in Leicester and Yorkshire, 10kms in Guildford, Tatton and Glasgow, and inflatable 5k fun runs in Huntingdon and Warwickshire – wherever you are and whatever level of challenge you’re looking for – we’ll find the event for you! For most events, there’s a small registration fee of just £25 and a minimum fundraising target that ranges from £100-350 depending on the race. There's still plenty of time to get your training in before October. Tempted? Email fundraising@app-network.org and we’ll sort you out with a free APP running vest and lots of support and encouragement!

Suncatchers

We’re very excited to have been donated more beautiful suncatchers, all handmade with love and care by our wonderful APP supporter, Peter the Glass. Numbers are very limited so if you’d like one, get your order in quickly. More info here.

Research

You can help improve care for the future by supporting research into PP. Please join our lived experience network, and then contact the researchers for information on each study.

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.

The causes and triggers of postpartum psychosis
The National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) and Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) are working together to understand more about the genetic factors, and other causes and triggers of severe mental illness during pregnancy and following childbirth.

You are invited to take part in this research if you have experienced postpartum psychosis or other severe mental illness around childbirth. For more information and to sign up to participate, please visit this page.

Enhancing recovery from 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
APP is working with researchers at the Institute of Mental Health, Birmingham University, led by Dr Isabel Morales-Munoz, to investigate the role of sleep in postpartum psychosis (PP). If you have experienced PP, you can help by completing questionnaires about sleep patterns. To take part, register with APP’s Lived Experience network, and email: 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 Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 10^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP London virtual café group meet up, Monday 10^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Grandparents virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 11th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 12^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Yorkshire virtual café group meet up, Thursday 13^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackpool, Friday 14^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 19^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

Birth Trauma Awareness Week, 16^th-22^nd July: www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk

APP Wales virtual café group meet up, Thursday 20^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 21st July: APP regional café groups webpage

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

APP Black Country face to face café group meet up at Walsall Arboretum, Wednesday 26^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackburn, Friday 28^th July: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Saturday 12^th August: APP regional café groups webpage

APP Black Country face to face café group meet up at Walsall Arboretum, Wednesday 23^rd August: APP regional café groups webpage

Events

Improving Safety in Maternity Services, Thursday 13^th July
Online conference focussing on a multidisciplinary approach to improving safety in maternity services following the Ockenden Review. Book tickets here.

Suicide Bereavement: Practical Applications Conference, from Tuesday 5^th September
Fourth annual conference organised by Harmless featuring a series of live webinars on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The theme of this year’s event is ‘2 steps forward, 1 step back. Book tickets here.

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

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 22^nd 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.

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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

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.