iHV Perinatal Mental Health Conference in association with RSPH – Perinatal Mental Health, a priority for public health

It is now known that perinatal mental illness can have significant long term public health and societal consequences when it goes undiagnosed and without intervention.

This conference is a joint event from the Institute of Health Visiting and their founding partner the Royal Society for Public Health. This conference will consider the effects of perinatal mental illness ante and postnatally on the infant, the mother, the father and on society and how these can be reduced. It will also share some important new national developments in the field which have been designed to reduce its impact. The day will take a public health perspective to a very common condition suffered by at least one in seven mothers.

Speakers

Chair: Dr Cheryll Adams, Director iHV
Sally Russell, Chair iHV
Professor Vivette Glover, Emeritus Professor, Imperial College, London
Dr Alain Gregoire, Maternal Mental Health Alliance
Dr Jane Hanley, President International Marcé Society
Dr Ann Hoskins, Children’s Director, Public Health England
Chris Cuthbert, Head of Strategy & Development for Under Ones, NSPCC
Dan Poulter, MP (TBC)
Emeritus Professor John Cox, Keele University co-developer of the EPDS
Mark Williams, Director, Fathers Reaching Out

Who should attend?

The programme is designed to be of value to health visitors, GPs, midwives, those working in mental and public health and those commissioning these services

Early Bird Special

Book by 10th January 2014 to receive places from as little as £115!

Book via the RSPH website

Online Therapy May Relieve Postnatal Depression, Helping As Many As 30% Of New Mothers

The Medical Daily reports that online support groups exist for a surfeit of mental health conditions including uncontrollable anger, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and kleptomania to name a few. But whether such groups provide anything beyond mere moral support for sufferers remains an open question for science, deserving — as they say — greater empirical study.

Investigators in the United Kingdom reported evidence supporting the effectiveness of online therapy for postnatal depression, a silent suffering affecting as many as 30 percent of new mothers. The study, published in an academic journal, supports work by researchers in Sweden last year showing promise for online therapy in treating general depression, too. Here, researchers at the University of Exeter, with support from the U.K. National Institute for Health Research, found a reduction in depression symptoms — including work and social impairment, as well as anxiety scores — following six months of treatment using a modified online “behavioural action” program supplemented with telephone calls with a mental health worker. Via Netmums.com, investigators recruited 83 women who had recently given birth and met diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, splitting them into two groups — one receiving traditional treatment and the other participating in Internet-based treatment.

“The online treatment we are offering via Netmums is the first treatment of this type—specifically designed for postnatal depression,” Joanna Bowler, a representative of Exeter, told Medical Daily. “Netmums.com offers an online chat room for postnatal and antenatal depression that is supported by trained parent supporters who are supervised by health visitors.”

Bowler said that although women with postnatal depression appeared to make heavy use of the website, and perhaps others, many chatroom users reported no local access to treatment, suggesting an unmet mental health care need among the wider population. Still others eschewed available treatment options for lack of perinatal focus or simply to avoid the stigma of mental health problems. “As a result, I paired up with Netmums.com to offer women treatment directly to fill this gap,” Bowler said.

The findings bolstered those of another study by the same research team on a more self-directed version of online therapy, in which 364 women completed a course of treatment, according to lead investigator Heather O’Mahen. “The high number of cases of PND, and the comparatively poor take up of help from those affected by it, are worrying,” she said in a statement. These studies “are the first to investigate the effectiveness of using an Internet-based therapy to provide [mothers] with [postnatal depression] with the support they would have traditionally received in a clinic-based environment.”

Evidence gathered from the two studies proved sufficient to convince the researchers of the feasibility in implementing the therapy on a wider scale. “Our hope is that this will allow more women to access and benefit from support, with all the knock-on positives that come from that: happier families, improved quality of life for [mothers], and a reduction in the demands such [postnatal depression] cases can bring to stretched health services around the world. This treatment is an accessible and potentially cost-effective option, and one that could easily be incorporated into mental healthcare provision.”

Interestingly, many new mothers interviewed for the study professed a strong preference for drug-free forms of treatment, including talk therapy — but found online therapy most convenient of all options.

Sources: Griffiths KM, Mackinnon AJ, Crisp DA, et al. The Effectiveness Of An Online Support Group For Members Of The Community With Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS ONE. 2013.

O’Mahen H. Internet Therapy May Help Postnatal Depression. Psychological Science. 2013.

Link to full article

Mothers and babies missing out on vital support says NSPCC

The wellbeing of more than one in 10 newborn babies in England could be improved if all new mothers with mental illness had equal access to good services, an NSPCC report reveals today. The charity is calling on Health Ministers to lead a drive to address major gaps in access to mental health services for pregnant and new mums.

Mental health problems can begin or escalate when a woman is pregnant or in her child’s first year. They can have a damaging effect on family life, and in the worst cases, impact on babies’ health and welfare.

Evidence shows the vast majority of these illnesses are preventable and treatable, with the right support. The charity recognises there are many excellent services working hard to ensure families get the support they need. However it describes how a lack of focus on mother’s mental health has led to a ‘postcode lottery’ for families, with less than half of mental health trusts having specialist mental health services for expectant and new mums.

Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC, said: “This report clearly shows that with the right services, it is possible to prevent the harm caused by maternal mental illness. But opportunities to help many more families are being missed.

“We have to start treating the mental health of mums and babies with the same importance as their physical health.

“Pregnancy and the first months of a child’s life are critical for their future wellbeing and parents naturally play a vital role. If the Government is serious about giving every child the best start in life it must take action to fill the gaps in services.”

Dr Ian Jones, Vice-Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Perinatal Section, said: “Maternal mental health remains a neglected area but is of huge importance and has long-lasting impact on the woman herself, her family and wider society. This NSPCC report highlights the need for specialist perinatal mental health services and the postcode lottery that characterises current provision. We must work to give women and their families the care they require.”