APP April 2025 Newsletter
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (MMHAW) runs from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th May. We’d love as many people as possible to get involved, raising awareness of postpartum psychosis (PP) to ensure anyone affected doesn’t feel alone and knows where they can turn to for help and support.
The theme for this year’s week, organised by the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership, is ’Your voice, your strength.’
Pregnancy and Postpartum Psychosis Awareness Day, #PPPAwarenessDay, is being marked on Friday 2nd May.
To find out more, follow @ActionOnPP on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and TikTok. There are also details of some of the special events we’ve organised below.
Creative Writing – A Lived Experience Workshop with Laura Dockrill
To mark this year’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, we are delighted that Laura Dockrill, What Have I Done? author and Action on Postpartum Psychosis ambassador, is running another writing session for members of the APP network who have experienced PP.
You don’t need any writing experience to join and there will be no need for fancy vocabulary or incredible spelling and grammar skills. This is a chance for your heart and head to do some talking. So, leave that inner-critic and expectation behind. All you need is something to write with and on.
There’s more information and details of how to book this free event here.
Take on a Miles for Mums and Babies challenge for Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (MMHAW)
To support MMHAW, we’re inviting APP supporters to take on a Miles for Mums and Babies challenge.
Taking part is simple - just pledge to walk, run or cycle and get sponsored to support APP’s work. You could aim to cover 10 miles, 20 miles, 500 miles or any other distance with a special significance for them: each mile reflects the journey mums, babies, partners and families travel to be together, whilst mums receive care in Mother and Baby Units (MBUs).
Thank you to everyone who has signed up already. We’re delighted to have so many people involved, with individuals and teams all over the UK running, walking, swimming, cycling and toddling hundreds of miles to raise awareness and funds.
Get inspired and find out more here or email fundraising@app-network.org.
Sign up for an APP café group during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (MMHAW)
Our regional peer support café groups for women and families affected by PP meet monthly and are a mixture of virtual sessions and face to face meet-ups. You can attend whether you are newly recovering or recovered many years ago. They are a social place to chat, support each other and share ideas about improving the future for others affected by PP.
If you are interested in joining our APP café groups – in Sussex & Hampshire, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, North East, Wales, Birmingham, Manchester, Lancashire & south Cumbria and London - please fill out this form or email app@app-network.org. New members are always welcome.
We also run a virtual peer group for dads and co-parents on the third Wednesday of every month for people who have supported a partner through PP. The next meeting is on 21st May. The next meeting of our Muslim women’s group is on 6th May. Our UK-wide, grandparents groups and LGBTQ+ families groups meet regularly through the year. If you would like to be on the mailing list for either of these groups, please email app@app-network.org.
You can find the dates of the next meet ups for all our café groups at the bottom of this newsletter and on our website here.
Essential knowledge for preventing maternal suicide webinar *Save the date*
The Alex Baish Memorial 2025 webinar will take place on Wednesday 8th October at 12pm.
This free webinar is open to frontline health professionals including GPs, midwives, health visitors and antenatal educators.
APP experts, women and families with lived experience and clinicians will highlight the early signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis and discuss how frontline health professionals can work with perinatal mental health teams to prevent maternal suicides.
This will be the third in the webinar series. 6,438 health professionals have signed up in previous years. Of attendees, 93% rated the training as ‘excellent’; 7% rated it ‘good’ and 100% agreed they would change their practice as a result:
This has contributed to my learning and will help save lives.
A truly inspiring, emotional, educational and thought-provoking webinar with @ActionOnPP - it has been a privilege to attend, thank you to all involved.
Really well put together- the content, the speakers, the information sharing and all the research and evidence presented. This is exactly the type of training needed. The issue is too urgent to ignore and too desperate to not be passionate about.”
Please save the date - 8th October at 12pm.
Details of how to book your free place will be available soon.
APP’s Chief Executive joins the Charity Hall of Fame
We’re delighted to announce that Dr Jess Heron, APP’s Chief Executive, has been inducted into the Charity Hall of Fame, the first in the world to celebrate social pioneers and leading philanthropists. The Hall of Fame has been created to honour and celebrate individuals - from the past and the present - whose work has transformed communities and driven positive change
Twenty-two inductees have been selected for the inaugural Class of 2025, including Jess, who founded APP as a charity in 2010. The historic pioneers being inducted include Mary Seacole, the nurse who provided critical care during the Crimean War; Olaudah Equiano, writer and abolitionist; and Josephine Butler, a campaigner for women’s rights. Modern-day changemakers honoured include human rights defender Chris Abbott and Kris Hallenga, breast cancer activist and founder of CoppaFeel!
APP is the only UK charity - and one of just a few worldwide - dedicated to supporting mothers and families affected by postpartum psychosis (PP), a severe but treatable mental illness that begins following childbirth.
Jess enters the Hall of Fame as one of its ‘social pioneers’ for her leadership of APP, setting up groundbreaking peer support services, specialist training for health professionals, developing accessible patient information, setting up networks and collaborations to break the silence surrounding postpartum psychosis, and for facilitating vital research into PP. Jess said:
I am delighted and feel very privileged to be selected as a Hall of Fame inductee. Much has changed over the past two decades for families affected by postpartum psychosis. It has been a joy to work with so many impressive and dedicated staff and volunteers to improve care and change public perceptions of PP.
The 2025 Hall of Fame inductees were selected by an independent panel of charity and community experts from a long list of public nominations. Malcolm John, Chair of the Induction Panel said:
Selecting the inaugural Class of 2025 was no easy task, as we had an incredible and diverse range of nominees. However, these inductees truly shine a light on what it means to create lasting change. Their impact is felt not just in the UK, but across the world, and we are proud to honour their legacy.
You can read more here.
GSK IMPACT Awards 2025 - a sneak peek of APP’s film!
Members of the APP team have been filmed to create a video showcasing our work. The film will be shown at the GSK IMPACT awards ceremony in May.
We’re delighted to have been chosen as one of ten winners of this year’s prestigious awards.
Over the past few weeks, films about each winning charity have been made. APP’s filming took place in Oxford (pictured above), featuring our Chief Executive, Dr Jess Heron, Shaheda Akhtar from our Diverse Communities Outreach project and our Media Consultant, Lucy Nichol.
We also had a second day of filming at Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit in Lancashire Jocelyn Ellams and Eli Davies, who provide peer support at the Unit, and Hannah Bissett, APP’s National NHS Contracts Coordinator, all hopped in front of the camera! See how they got on here.
Thank you to @themeetinghouseoxford and @wearelscft for helping to make the filming possible.
World Health Day: campaigning to prioritise women’s health and wellbeing
On World Health Day, APP joined with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to call for urgent action in maternal and newborn health. From pregnancy to postpartum, women and families deserve high-quality care, including specialist perinatal mental health support for those affected by postpartum psychosis.
This year’s World Health Day started a year-long campaign ‘Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’, urging governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritise women’s longer-term health and well-being. You can read more about the World Health Day campaign here.
Did you know? Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without a specialist Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) for mothers experiencing severe postnatal mental illness. This means women are separated from their babies to receive care. We’re campaigning to change this: #MumBabyTogetherNI. To find out more about our campaign for more Mother and Baby Units, visit here.
Add your voice to our campaigning work - join the APP Network here.
APP team away day
In March, the Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) team held a team away day at the University of Oxford’s National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit.
As a home-working organisation, APP rarely has an opportunity to meet up in person. 24 of 28 members of APP staff were able to attend the day, which began with sessions from APP staff about their role in the organisation and priorities for 2025.
The day enabled us to reflect on the work we’ve done since the charity was set up and share ideas for the future. It was an excellent opportunity to celebrate APP’s recent GSK Kings Fund IMPACT award, celebrating health charities making a real difference in the UK.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to the Department of Health and Social Care Suicide Prevention Fund for supporting our staff away day, as well as Professor Fiona Alderdice and the team at the University of Oxford National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit for hosting us.
You can read more here.
Listen to the Breaking the Taboo podcast
APP Chief Executive, Dr Jess Heron, and National Training Coordinator, Sally Wilson, joined Theo Clarke on her Birth Trauma podcast, to talk about postpartum psychosis and our work.
The podcast included discussion about what postpartum psychosis is; treatment; Mother and Baby Units; the importance of peer support; wider impact on the family; baby bonding; resources and help for affected families; and raising awareness.
Jess and Sally really appreciated the chance to raise awareness of PP with Theo. You can listen to the podcast here.
Writing for wellbeing Q&A
On 27th March, 20 members of the APP network, all of whom have lived experience of PP, met with the author and podcaster Katherine May, for an online conversation (pictured above) about 'writing for wellbeing'.
Katherine is the author of the memoir books 'Wintering', 'Enchantment' and 'The Electricity of Every Living Thing'.
It was a really enlightening and helpful conversation. Katherine shared many insights and tips - including her experience of writing about her personal experiences, getting published, things to consider before sharing our writing publicly, her own process and routines with writing, and writing for our own wellbeing. She also gave us some writing prompts which we shared with the group afterwards.
A huge thank you to Katherine for sharing her valuable experience with us.
Q&A: Art, motherhood, and postpartum psychosis
Jenny Stevenson, APP’s National Peer Support Coordinator (online services) spoke to artist Lucy Cade about work which was featured in a recent exhibition.
Lucy’s artworks formed part of a mixed media exhibition at Waterside Arts, Manchester (18th January - 22nd February 2025). This was alongside the theatre performance ‘Who Is Your Mummy and Where Did She Go?’, with support from Action on Postpartum Psychosis.
The theatre show and exhibition explored stories of mothers who have lived experience of this still stigmatised mental illness and shed light on the work of those who seek to raise awareness and encourage more open conversations about maternal mental health.
You can read the full Q&A and see some of Lucy’s artwork here.
Fundraising
April and May are always some of the busiest months for our fundraisers and 2025 is no different! We’ve got so many amazing fundraisers out and about, taking on all sorts of events for APP.
Well done to Team Remy - assembled by Juliette - who took on the Brighton 10k and Brighton Marathon at the beginning of April to raise funds and awareness for APP - together they raised an incredible £10,000! Thank you Team Remy!
As well as Juliette’s team, we also had other runners representing APP on the big day, including Becky, Alex, James, Michelle and Rob. You can read more about all of them here. Our APP cheerleaders were out and about as well, providing much needed support from the sidelines! Thank you Rachel and Maria for being there for our runners.
On 11th April, APP supporter Emily made her way 26.2 miles around the beautiful streets of Paris, and raising an unbelievable £3,800 for a cause which means so much to her. Read more here.
Last weekend saw one of our biggest ever fundraising weekends, with supporters taking on challenges for APP all over the country, and beyond!
Elke, Kwame and their family team united in Belgium to take part in the biggest running event in the country - the Antwerp 10 Mile! Find out more about their challenge here.
In the North West, Perinatal Psychiatrist Ellie took on the fabulous Manchester Marathon - she’s raised an incredible £2,600 and counting - thank you Ellie! Read more about why Ellie chose to run for APP here.
In Glasgow, Kirsten represented APP in the 23 mile Kiltwalk - an amazing achievement. Kirsten wanted to take on this challenge for her sister Jodie, who had PP after the birth of her baby. Read more about Kirsten and add your support here.
And last but by no means least - our amazing TeamAPP London Marathon runners - Satpal, Sarah, Kate, Holly and Chay took to the streets of the capital for the world’s biggest fundraising event on Sunday. You can read all about each of them, their reasons for running and support them here.
There are so many fundraisers we need to wish good luck to for May too!
Mental Health Nurse Laura aka ‘The Purple Plodder’ is taking on an unbelievable 70mile Ultra Marathon along the Welsh coast, from the Maternity Unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd across North Wales to the Seren Lodge site at the Countess of Chester, raising money for APP and Awyr Las Gogledd Cymru - North Wales NHS Trust (perinatal mental health service). We all need to get behind her for this incredible challenge! Add your support here.
There’s an amazing team of 15 healthcare professionals from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust Perinatal Community Mental Health Team taking on the Belfast Half Marathon for APP on the 4th May. Such a brilliant team effort - read more and support them here.
A fabulous team from Little Green Rooms are taking part in the Bristol Half Marathon and Bristol 10k on the 11th May - find out more here.
Irene, Flor and Cristina are taking part in the Plymouth 5k on 11th May - Irene says friends Flor and Cristina were her rocks when she was ill with PP and they plan to run this together too. Read about their story here.
Lyndsay is taking on the Edinburgh Half Marathon for APP on the 24th May. She’s been doing her best to fit her training in around her two children because APP is a cause very close to her heart. Support Lyndsay here.
A massive thank you and the very best of luck to everyone who has signed up to be part of our Miles for Mums and Babies challenge this May too! Fundraisers include Emily in Northern Ireland who’s going to be walking 100 miles over the month, and the Andersen Ward MBU in Manchester who are back on board for another year. We can’t wait to hear what everyone is up to and it’s not too late if you want to join in too - find out more and sign up for free here.
Last chance to be part of our APP Adventure in June - there’s still time to sign up for our APP Adventure in June if you’d like to join us for our Mam Tor challenge! Register here if you want to be part of it.
Take part in the 2026 London Marathon
We couldn’t be more excited that we have managed to secure official places for APP runners in the 2026 London Marathon! After many years of relying on ballot place winners choosing to run for us, to finally have our own places is amazing. We will have 12 places in each London Marathon from 2026-2029.
We know there will be lots of interest in these places so have decided to implement an application process for anyone interested in taking part. You can find out more and access the application form and terms & conditions here. Applications are open until 25th May.
Don’t forget the main ballot is open now too, and it’s always worth applying through there too to maximise your chances of getting a place.
Good luck!
Dates for your diary
APP UK-wide virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 30th April
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackburn, Friday 2nd May
APP Birmingham face to face café group meet up, Friday 2nd May
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, Monday 5th - Sunday 11th May
International Day of the Midwife, Monday 5th May
APP Muslim women’s virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 6th May
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Blackpool, Friday 9th May
Mental Health Awareness Week, Monday 12th - Sunday 18th May
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria virtual café group meet up, Monday 12th May
APP Manchester face to face café group meet up, Friday 16th May
APP Northern Ireland face to face café group meet up in Belfast, Friday 16th May
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Preston, Friday 16th May
APP London face to face café group meet up, Saturday 17th May
APP London virtual café group meet up, Monday 19th May
APP UK-wide virtual café group meet up, Tuesday 20th May
APP dads and co-parents virtual café group meet up, Wednesday 21st May
APP Lancashire and south Cumbria face to face café group meet up in Lancaster, Wednesday 21st May
APP Sussex and Hampshire virtual café group meet up, Thursday 22nd May
APP Yorkshire face to face café group meet up in York, Friday 23rd May
Global Day of Parents, Sunday 1st June
APP grandparents virtual café group meet up, Monday 2nd June
APP Muslim women’s virtual café group meet up, Friday 6th June
APP Birmingham face to face café group meet up, Friday 6th June
APP Wales face to face café group meet up, Saturday 7th June
APP Book Club virtual meeting, Thursday 19th June
APP Scotland face to face café group meet up in Edinburgh, Saturday 21st June
Contact information for all APP café groups is available here.
Events/conferences
Coventry and Warwickshire Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Walk, Sunday 4th May
Free entry to this family fun day featuring an inflatable and face painting at Pump Room Gardens, Leamington Spa between 11am and 3pm. The awareness walk will take place at 1pm. All welcome.
Annual Birth Trauma Summit, Tuesday 13th May
Face to face event in London featuring speakers and workshops following the themes of “Back to Basics” and “Celebrating 10 years”. Live streams and recordings will also be available. More information and book tickets here.
Hearts and Minds Partnership national meet-up, Monday 19th May
Free meet-up day in Birmingham to connect, support and celebrate the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector in perinatal mental health. More information and book your place here.
The Perinatal Summit, Thursday 12th - Friday 13th June
Multidisciplinary conference in Birmingham to explore how the perinatal period is experienced, understood and improved. More information and ticket booking here.
Improving Perinatal Mental Health Services, Friday 27th June
Online conference with presentations from expert speakers at local and national level. Learning from the most recent MBRRACE- UK Report and roadmap to strengthening perinatal mental health will be shared. Members of the APP network will receive a 20% discount with code hcuk20app. Book here.
If you would like to advertise your event here, please get in touch: app@app-network.org.