Tags: mental health

Updated Maternal Mental Health resource for Parents

As part of UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, iHV launches updated Parent Tips – Understanding your mental health and emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and after the birth of your baby (mothers).

Having a baby is a huge life event and a time of change. It is normal to feel many different emotions during the transition to parenthood, for example, over half of all new mothers will experience what is known as the “baby blues”. Symptoms of the baby blues include feeling tearful, irritable, and overwhelmed at times and can last for about 10 days after having a baby.

Please share.

This Parent Tip joins our suite of Parent Tips  – our helpful factsheets to help parents to find expert advice on key areas of looking after their new baby from when they are born to when they go to school. Written by experts in the field, they cover topics such as feeding, health, behaviour and development, and are based on up-to-date research and the experience and knowledge of real-life health visitors working across the UK.

Go to iHV Top Tips for Parents

NSPCC – Many new parents may be ‘suffering in silence’ during lockdown

On Maternal Mental Health Awareness Day (6 May), the NSPCC highlights rising concern that many new parents may be ‘suffering in silence’ during lockdown.

The Institute was pleased to support an NSPCC virtual roundtable looking at the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on new mothers’ mental health, and the risk of potential long-term consequences on babies’ health and development. The panel said their services had adapted to support parents digitally, but they shared concerns about the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on mothers and babies.

The NSPCC reported an increase of 28% in calls to its helpline about parental mental health in the first three weeks of lockdown.

Before the pandemic, up to one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers experienced perinatal mental health problems, the charity said.

Eileen O’Sullivan, a specialist health visitor in Warwickshire, said:

“Supporting mothers digitally can be challenging and there is a concern that some may be suffering in silence, too scared to share how they are really feeling over video.

“I am also seeing that my colleagues are being extra vigilant because we don’t want to miss anything.”

The NSPCC cited data from the Institute of Health Visiting, which found in some areas of England at least 50% of health visitors, including some from perinatal mental health and parent-infant teams, were redeployed into other health services in the initial period of the lockdown.

The NSPCC is urging the Government to ensure support is provided to parents as the country comes out of lockdown, and to come up with a plan to rebuild health visiting and perinatal services after the crisis.

Andrew Fellowes, public affairs manager at the NSPCC, said:

“At the NSPCC we know that, if undetected and untreated, perinatal mental health problems can have a devastating impact on women, partners and babies, both immediately but also long after the COVID-19 situation has passed.

“It is imperative that families continue to have access to services during the lockdown so that mental health problems can be identified and specialist support provided if needed.”

The iHV continues to support health visitors, our perinatal mental health champions and specialist health visitors in perinatal and infant mental health to deliver their services to families who may be adversely affected by the lockdown, particularly with respect to safeguarding and mental health issues. We have produced specific guidance to help which can be found in our COVID-19 (coronavirus) guidance for health professionals webpage: https://iHV.org.uk/COVID-19

UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 4-10 May 2020

The UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week will take place next week – 4-10 May 2020, with the theme of ‘Supporting mums during difficult times’.

Although the awareness week was paused 3 weeks ago, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the support need for mums and families seeking advice during this difficult time means that the week will go ahead with a revised focus.  The theme this year is now ‘Supporting mums during difficult times’ which will enable the week to provide a supportive platform where families can be reassured and be signposted to vital resources and safe support which is what people need most at this time at this unusual time.

During this awareness week there is absolutely no pressure to take part in any activities that are run.  People following the week (whether mum, parent, healthcare professional, peer support worker and beyond) will not be asked to do anything such as sharing photographs of themselves to promote the week, during what is for many, a difficult time. All the resources created and provided during the week will be available afterwards for you to pick up when you need it.

Energies will focus on ensuring that parents feel well informed and supported at this time when anxieties are heightened for so many.

Themed days:

Each day will be themed and will have its own unique hashtag:

  • Monday 4 May – The focus of the first day of the campaign will be ‘What is Maternal Mental Health’? We will provide an overview of the different illnesses that affect women in the perinatal period. 
    • Hashtag for the day will be #pmhpWhatIsMaternalMH
  • Tuesday 5 May– We will be focusing on what good support looks like. Support can be wide ranging from advice and help from health care professionals, medication, therapy, help from the voluntary sector and safe peer support. There will be particular focus on alternative support options within the COVID-19 period. Charities, local peer support groups and services will be encouraged to share their details on social media so families know what support is available across the UK. This could include details of the service, contact information, the areas they cover, information on safeguarding policies, training and supervision they have in place for staff and volunteers.
    • Hashtag for the day will be #pmhpAccessingSafeSupport
  • Wednesday 6 May – This is World Maternal Mental Health Day and  Perinatal Mental Health Partnership (PMHP) are UK representatives for the day. Our theme for the day will be ‘The Village’, focusing on how we work together to remove barriers to services so all mums who need services can access them.
    • Hashtag for the day will be #pmhpTheVillage
  • Thursday 7 May – will focus on what support is available for friends and family of those who are experiencing maternal mental illness, with a particular focus on what is available during the COVID-19 period.
    • Hashtag for the day will be #pmhpLookingAfterYouAndYours
  • Friday 8 May – To end the week, we will look at recovery and how it can look different for each person but with the message that it can and does happen. We will be encouraging a virtual ‘Positivity Pot’, publishing and sharing articles, blogs and vlogs about recovery, looking ahead to the future and self-care.
    • Hashtag for the day will be #pmhPositivityPot

PMHP will be resharing content from the week over 9 and 10 May.

Week online activities

  • #PNDHOUR – Following on from the success of the last three years, Rosey from PNDandMe, who is also a member of PMHP, will be running #PNDHOUR on Wednesday 6 May at 8pm on Twitter. Rosey runs this highly successful twitter hour each Wednesday throughout the year at 8pm and discusses different aspect of perinatal mental illness each week.  For more information on #PNDHour see http://pndandme.co.uk/what-is-pndhour/ 
  • Facebook Lives – There will be a full series of interactive Facebook Live sessions, run from the PMHP Facebook Page, focusing on maternal mental health. People watching the live sessions will be able to interact with the hosts and ask questions during some and the sessions will be available permanently to playback via the PMHP Facebook page. To view the sessions and / or take part, simply access the PMHP facebook page at the listed day and time – https://www.facebook.com/PerinatalMHPartnershipUK/
  • Tuesday 5 May at 11am – Signs, Symptoms and what we can offer you with the Association of Postnatal Illness. Join this facebook live from the APNI office to learn about postnatal illness and the help and support they can offer.
  • Wednesday 6 May at 2pm – Hard to reach or easy to ignore – Improving access to maternal mental healthcare in the South Asian Community. Deputy manager of Roshni2, Farah Lunat, will discuss the barriers and challenges South Asian women report when experiencing postnatal mental health difficulties. A discussion will be had on how South Asian mums specifically can be supported and what healthcare professionals and the community should be mindful of.
  • There will also be a session on Facebook with Action on Postpartum Psychosis, collaborating on content with the Institute of Health Visiting and Tommys . Details on these will be announced shortly.

PMHP will also be holding watch sessions via their Facebook page of their suite of previous Facebook Lives. These include:

  • Perinatal OCD with Maria Bavetta and Dr Fiona Challacombe. Perinatal OCD can revolve around significant fear of harm coming to a baby, with upsetting intrusive thoughts, and some people find themselves so distressed that they will take measures to manage their anxiety or prevent their fears coming true.This can be deeply distressing and parents who suffer from these symptoms are often scared of their thoughts. Maria and Fiona discussed these issues.
  • Getting support from Healthcare Professionals with Dr Stephanie De Giorgio. We know that approaching a healthcare professional when feeling low while pregnant or after having a baby can be a difficult step to take. Therefore, GP Dr Stephanie De Giorgio provided tips on how to talk about your symptoms to a healthcare professional and  advised on the steps that may be taken once you have done this to ensure you get support in your recovery.
  • An overview of Postpartum Psychosis. This was a great opportunity to hear from APP professionals and volunteers about how this psychiatric emergency is diagnosed, treated and recovered from.
  • Young mums and their mental health and wellbeing. The Young Mums Support Network and Young Mums Aid are two social enterprises who are working grass roots with mothers in the local community. They ran this Facebook live and discussed some of the real complex challenges young mums face which impacts their mental health and wellbeing.
  • The influence of BAME maternal community groups and mental wellbeing with The Motherhood Group.  This was presented by Sandra Igwe from The Motherhood Group, which is a support network where black women can talk about the issues they are facing.
  • Breastfeeding and antidepressants. Pharmacist Wendy Jones held this session to outline information about taking antidepressants while breastfeeding and which ones are compatible.
  • Post Adoption Depression. Brie, who founded the Colours of Adoption blog, held this session to discuss her personal experience of this little discussed illness to both raise awareness and make a difference for future adoptive families.
  • Peer Support in the Perinatal Period. This session was run by Juno, a perinatal charity in Edinburgh. They outlined the importance of and how powerful safe peer support can be to support mums.
  • Engaging with Health Care Professionals and accessing peer support. Smile Group led this session where they challenged the stereotypical views of what a peer support group is like , provided an overview of what is involved and introduced their pioneering GP appointment checklist which helps mums who find it difficult to verbalise their symptoms.
  • Recovery and talking to your children about your illness – In this session our member Eve Canavan BEM talked about her personal experience of Postpartum Psychosis, recovery and the tools that can support it. She was also joined by her nine-year-old son Joe where they spoke about discussing the experience with him.
  • Dads and mental health. Dads in Mind ran a session dedicated to fathers with a peer support worker and a Perinatal psychiatrist.

Resources you may find helpful 

What can you do to get involved?

Follow PMHP on their social media channels:

Use the #SupportingMumsDuringDifficultTimes and #MaternalMHMatters hashtag on social media when referring to the week and the daily specific hashtags if relating to the daily theme.

Tag the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership in any posts you make during the week

Highlight what your organisation/charity/support group does to support families affected by perinatal mental illness with particular reference with how you are offering support during the COVID-19 period.

PMHP are more than happy to support media requests and will promote your activities for the week! Contact them via [email protected]

Updated mental health GPPs for #iHVPIMH19

iHV is delighted to share updated Good Practice Points (providing up-to-date evidence and references for our members) in support of our multi-agency Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Conference taking place tomorrow, Tuesday 10 September in London.

Perinatal and Infant Mental Health: Relationships Matter! Conference is being held in collaboration with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. If you were not able to get a ticket before they sold out, please do follow the day’s conference proceedings on the hashtag #iHVPIMH19 on Twitter!

Printed copied of these updated Good Practice Points (GPPs) will be available to conference delegate members tomorrow – so do pop along to our Training & Resources stand to pick up your copy.

Electronic versions of these updated documents are available to our members on the links below – do remember to sign in to access them:

Go to GPP - Understanding Mothers’ Mental Health & Wellbeing (updated August 2019)

Go to GPP - Understanding Fathers’ Mental Health & Wellbeing (updated June 2019)

Go to GPP - Engaging with Fathers (updated August 2019)

Go to GPP - Postnatal Psychosis (updated August 2019)

Please note that GPPs are available to iHV members only.

If you’re not a member, please join us to get access to all of our resources.

The iHV is a self-funding charity – we can only be successful in our mission to strengthen health visiting practice if the health visiting profession and its supporters join us on our journey. We rely on our membership to develop new resources for our members.

So do join us now!

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iHV Fellow presents on International Fathers’ Mental Health Day

On International Fathers’ Mental Health Day (#DadsMHDay) 2019, we are delighted that one of our iHV Fellows, Sharin Baldwin, presented at the Talking Dads conference in Blackpool today – organised by the Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development.

Sharin Baldwin RN, RM, RHV, QN, FiHV, iHV Research Champion, BSc (Hons), PG Dip, MSc, NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, King’s College London Clinical Academic Lead, Nursing and Midwifery, London North West University Healthcare Trust

The Talking Dads Conference brought together a national audience of fellow practitioners, academics and volunteers to discuss the importance of Dads in early years, with leading national experts, including Sharin, in the field of early child development providing a national and international perspective on the innovative work surrounding the role of Dads, and that of men’s mental health and wellbeing.

Updated resource

In addition on #DadsMHDay, we are pleased to share updated resources from Sharin for health visitors:

UPDATED GPP – Understanding father’s mental health & wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood

These updated GPPs set out what health visitors need to know about Understanding  Fathers’ Mental Health & Wellbeing during their transition to parenthood. As part of every contact, HVs should routinely enquire about fathers’ mental health and wellbeing, and offer appropriate support and advice to fathers, as well as mothers.

They provide updated evidence and references.

Go to GPP - Understanding father’s mental health & wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood

iHV PIMH Conference – Perinatal and Infant Mental Health: Relationships Matter!

Why not join us at our forthcoming annual Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PIMH) Conference where we are delighted to announce that Sharin will be speaking.

Perinatal and Infant Mental Health: Relationships Matter! is being held on 10 September in London – bookings are now open and we do expect tickets to go quickly – our last two conferences have been sold out!

Book your place at our PIMH conference today - don't be disappointed!

About Sharin

Sharin is a trained nurse, midwife and health visitor. She is a keen advocate for health visiting and her research interest is Mental Health and Wellbeing of Fathers, an area that is fairly neglected. She is currently undertaking a PhD in this area (www.newdadstudy.com) at King’s College London and is the first health visitor to be awarded a Clinical Doctoral Fellowship by NIHR.

Sharin also works as Clinical Academic Lead in London North West Healthcare Trust. She is a Queen’s Nurse, Fellow of the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), iHV Perinatal Mental Health Champion and Health Visitor Research Champion. She has co-authored a book chapter titled ‘Working in Diverse Communities’ in a health visiting text book. Sharin has published several research papers in reputable professional journals and is a peer reviewer for the International Journal of Nursing Studies, Primary Health Care Research and Development, Midwifery and the Institute of Health Visiting. Sharin is also on the editorial board for the Journal of Health Visiting.

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/sharin.1.baldwin.html

New opportunity with iHV – Professional Development Officer, PIMH

Exciting and unique development opportunity with the Institute

Professional Development Officer, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, South of England

The iHV is seeking to appoint health visitor expert in perinatal and infant mental health and practice development to work with them supporting training and various other related projects, as well as covering some national meetings. The post holder will be up to full time but could be 4 days, we would also consider a job share if the post holders were based in different areas of the country.

The post holder, who will have a master’s degree, will ideally be based in the South of England but this isn’t essential and will be prepared to travel within the post, mostly within the UK, but potentially also to European countries. They will ideally be an iHV infant and perinatal mental health champion, have broad experience in these fields, with additional research or project development experience.

A confident self-starter, they will deliver training, attend meetings, develop regional forums for our PIMH Champions and input advice to other work streams on request including to a European project just funded.

The post holder will be highly respected by colleagues for their capacity to drive and deliver local professional developments.

1-year post/secondment in the first instance with expectation of extension.  The Institute offers a competitive pension scheme.

For further details, job description and application form

Applications close: 9.00 am Monday 18 March 2019

Interviews:  Thursday 4 April 2019 

iHV partners with PHE in ground-breaking commitment to better mental health

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) has signed up to Public Health England’s (PHE) Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health. This will see iHV work closely with PHE to take significant steps towards the promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental health problems.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director Institute of Health Visiting, with the iHV’s signatory certificate for Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“The Institute is delighted to have been awarded as a Signatory for the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health. Our work in Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, in particular our Champions project, acts on the recognition that parental and infant mental health are crucial to good mental health across the life-course. We support our Champions at every local level to lead the shift towards prevention-focused care, enabling early help through the use of upstream interventions at every level of need.

“The Institute is absolutely committed to supporting local authorities, policy makers, parents, NHS clinical commissioners, service providers and the voluntary sector to promote a prevention-focused approach towards improving the public’s mental health.”

The Prevention Concordat Programme for Better Mental Health marked the first time that agencies across the community and care sectors came together to make prevention a priority for mental health. Now 74 organisations representing all sectors have signed up and committed to action. These organisations are benefiting from resources designed specifically to help local areas put in place effective prevention planning arrangements.

The promotion of good mental health is everyone’s responsibility and can only be achieved by working together. As a signatory to the concordat, we recognise that we can all contribute to improving mental health and wellbeing and reducing stigma, facilitate local and national action around preventing mental health problems and promote good mental health.

Lily Makurah, national lead for public mental health at PHE, said:

“The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health exists to help communities prevent mental health problems and promote good mental health. Through local and national action across sectors we can all contribute to improving mental health and wellbeing, improve outcomes and reduce stigmas for everyone. We’re delighted that the Institute of Health Visiting has joined the growing list of signatories.”

Find out more about Our Work in Mental Health

Background to the Concordat

New publications on fathers’ mental health and wellbeing

iHV Fellow, Sharin Baldwin, publishes Systematic Review on First Time Fathers’ Mental Health and Wellbeing and accompanying editorial on the importance of men’s mental health to coincide with International Men’s Day (19 November) – a worldwide celebration of the positive value that men bring to the world, their families and communities.

They both are open access publications.

Sharin Baldwin

Sharin Baldwin

 Systematic Review on First Time Fathers’ Mental Health and Wellbeing

The findings from the systematic review on first time fathers’ mental health and wellbeing  revealed that fathers wanted:

  • More guidance and support to prepare them for parenthood, specifically to better prepare them for subsequent relationship changes with their partner
  • Access to tailored information and to be equally included in consultations and contacts with relevant health professionals.
Go to Mental health and wellbeing during the transition to fatherhood - a systematic review of first time fathers’ experiences

The synthesis of the international evidence has important implications for healthcare professionals working with families in the early years, with particular reference to the need to consider the mental health and wellbeing of mothers and fathers. The review also highlighted that healthcare professionals need a greater understanding of the dilemmas and challenges that new fathers face to better support their mental health and wellbeing during this crucial transitional period.

Evidence from our systematic review adds further support for an urgent review of how we plan, provide and resource maternity and early years services, in order to recognise the impact that pregnancy and birth may have on a father’s mental health, as well as the essential role fathers play in supporting their partner and infant. If the aim of health research is to improve outcomes through the implementation of evidence and use of evidence-based practices, we should ask ourselves why barriers persist to address and recognise paternal mental health needs. Now is the time to use this evidence to change practice towards supporting both parents and provide more equitable care and use of resources.

Editorial piece on the importance of men’s mental health

Editorial: Mental health of first time fathers – it's time to put evidence into practice

Further information

For further information on Sharin’s research, please see her study website.

Sharin Baldwin RN, RM, RHV, QN, FiHV, HV Research Champion, BSc (Hons), PG Dip, MSc

NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellow, King’s College London

Clinical Academic for Community Nursing, London North West University Healthcare Trust

iHV publishes response to NHS Mental Health consultation

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) has published its response to the consultation – Mental Health in the Long-Term Plan for the NHS.

The consultation is to identify opportunities to deliver the NHS’s goal to provide world-class mental healthcare – improving the outcomes for everyone who uses the NHS services.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director, Institute of Health Visiting said:

“At the Institute, we firmly believe there is no health without mental health, which is why we have perinatal and infant mental health (PIMH) as a priority focus. We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation to ensure that all families get consistent, accessible, high quality care and support for their mental health during the perinatal period. Our response reflects the many consultations and surveys we have done with our members and other stakeholders over the recent months and years.”

The Institute’s response includes its top three priorities in mental health:

  • Resourcing health visiting services through joint commissioning which formally requires health visitors to take a specific lead for perinatal and infant mental health;
  • Closing the gap between knowledge of what affects child and family mental health, and how services are commissioned and organised to implement this knowledge;
  • A need to concentrate efforts to create a much wider understanding of the epidemiology of mental illness with so much of it having its origins in the very first years of life.

Dr Adams continued:

“Early intervention for families in the perinatal period will reduce the burden of mental illness across the life-course! We have to get that message over to politicians and policy makers, so that funding is allocated upstream and not disproportionately spent on secondary and tertiary care, fixing problems that could have been prevented from occurring in the first place.

“This submission focuses on how, with the right support from the NHS and partner organisations, health visitors can ensure that all families with children receive the right care and support for their mental health, at the right time, in the right place.”

Download iHV's response to Mental Health in the Long-Term Plan for the NHS Consultation

Download Appendix to Mental Health in the Long-Term Plan for the NHS Consultation

 

iHV welcomes Mental Health Policy Commission: Investing in a Resilient Generation report

The root causes of mental health problems can often be traced to adversity in childhood or adolescence, but the effects can have a life-long impact on well-being and the ability to live a satisfying and productive life throughout adulthood.

iHV welcomes Mental Health Policy Commission: Investing in a Resilient Generation report which sets out the evidence base around the factors that can impact on young people’s mental health.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV commented:

“This is a very timely and helpful piece of work emphasising the huge benefits to NHS spending from investing in prevention of mental illness in the very early years, and in schools. We really hope that local authorities will take note of its recommendations and reconsider any more cuts planned to health visitor services. Savings can be made in different ways and this document makes clear that cutting preventative services creates a significant burden of expenditure that must be picked up later by public services.

“It is time to be brave and invest for tomorrow, not today, giving more children a bright future by supporting them as babies and infants when supportive interventions for families have the most powerful impact on their mental wellbeing. The toll of mental illness is now so significant and conspicuous that there is a civil and moral duty for all those with influence to reduce this by supporting investment into early preventative strategies as laid out in the recommendations of this report.”

Go to Mental Health Policy Commission: Investing in a Resilient Generation report