1st May 2024
In support of World Maternal Mental Health Day (#WMMHD), we are delighted to share this Voices blog by Natalie Mosson-Kelly (Professional Development Officer Perinatal and Infant Mental Health at the Institute of Health Visiting) as she explains the importance of professional working together – “Stronger Together”.
Natalie Mosson-Kelly (Professional Development Officer Perinatal and Infant Mental Health at the Institute of Health Visiting)
Today, 1st of May, falls during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week and marks the 9th annual World Maternal Mental Health Day (WMMHD), along with the start of Maternal Mental Health Month.
Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, campaigners and those with lived experience have been joining forces since 2016 to advocate for greater awareness of maternal mental health issues. WMMHD is also an opportunity to reduce stigma and demand better perinatal mental health services for everyone.
This year’s theme is “Stronger Together”. It highlights the importance of collaboration and the relationships between all of those involved in the drive towards better perinatal mental healthcare.
Why do we need World Maternal Mental Health Day?
Maternal mental health disorders are a global public health issue; they affect women of all ages, all cultures and all socio-economic backgrounds. They are considered the most common serious health complication during the perinatal period, with as many as one in five women experiencing them – while maternal mental health problems are around twice as common in low-income countries than in high-income countries1. Closer to home, MBRRACE-UK data show that maternal suicide continues to be the leading cause of direct maternal death between 6 weeks and 12 months after birth2.
These statistics tell the stories of those “that we know of”. Beyond these statistics, there are also many women out there who may be struggling with mental health difficulties who don’t meet the threshold for diagnosis, or for referral on to specialised perinatal mental health services.
Addressing maternal perinatal mental illness is important as there are serious implications if the conditions are left untreated. These include an increased risk of adverse obstetric outcomes, long-term mental health outcomes, and potential long-term physical outcomes linked to cardiovascular disease and autoimmune conditions3.
We can also see wider family impact. Up to 50% of fathers will experience perinatal mental illness in cases where a mother has a perinatal mental illness4, and maternal mental illness can have a significant adverse impact on mother-baby interactions. Without support, this can have a knock-on effect on the child’s emotional, social and cognitive development.
There are huge costs to untreated maternal mental health problems; both human and economic. As such, inadequate perinatal mental health support is a significant public health concern that we all have a part to play in tackling.
“Stronger Together” – professionals as different pieces of the same jigsaw
When we acknowledge the lifelong impact that perinatal mental health problems can have on the woman, infant and wider family, we must recognise the importance of the relationships between women and the professionals supporting them. These relationships, and the relationships between the different professionals involved in the care, are critical to how care is received and the difference it makes to long-term outcomes. A key component in this therapeutic relationship is the trust that families have in the knowledge and skills of professionals to support them and work with them to develop a personalised package of care to meet their needs. It is therefore incumbent upon all professionals working with families in the perinatal period to access high-quality training on perinatal and infant mental health to support evidence-based care.
At the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), we are very proud of our award-winning multi-agency Champions and Awareness training programmes which cover a range of topics, including: Perinatal and Infant Mental Health; Fathers and Perinatal Mental Health; and LGBTQI+ People and Perinatal Mental Health. We deliver these training sessions to a multi-agency audience including health visitors, midwives, workers from family hubs, CBT therapists, social workers, third sector staff, volunteers and parent-infant therapists. The list could go on. One of the many strengths of these training sessions is that they allow for inter-professional learning and strengthening of relationships between partner agencies. This enables greater understanding of the different roles we all play in the system of support and what we can each offer to families.
We can only build effective perinatal mental health support through inter-professional collaboration. As the first member of the iHV professional team who is not a health visitor but a practising midwife, I live that every day. Midwifery and health visiting go hand in hand, working alongside all the other services that surround the universal health services in the perinatal period – our professions are connected by the families that we care for.
This WMMHD, remember that we have a team of other professionals around us with related but different and complementary skillsets. Working collaboratively is key. When we recognise that we are all different pieces of the same jigsaw, working towards the same goal of improved perinatal mental health services and support, we can realise we are stronger together for the families we serve.
Natalie Mosson-Kelly – Professional Development Officer Perinatal and Infant Mental Health at the Institute of Health Visiting
For more information on iHV Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Training Programmes, contact [email protected]
Become an iHV member and gain access to iHV Insights webinars including our upcoming event on Intrusive Thoughts, our library of mental health Good Practice Points, and discounts on PIMH training and conferences.
References
- Maternal Mental Health Alliance. World maternal mental health | Maternal Mental Health Alliance. [accessed 12 Apr 2024]. Available from: https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/about-maternal-mental-health/world-maternal-mental-health/
- MBRRACE-UK. Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care State of the Nation Surveillance Report Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care. 2023 [accessed 12 Apr 2024]. Available from: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/assets/downloads/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-report-2023/MBRRACE-UK_Maternal_Compiled_Report_2023.pdf
- Bränn E, Shen Q, Lu D. Perinatal depression and its health impact. BMJ. 2024;384:2777. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2777
- Goodman JH. Paternal postpartum depression, its relationship to maternal postpartum depression, and implications for family health. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2003;45(1):26–35. doi: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02857.x
