Local company launches maternal mental health app
A Northern Ireland based technology company has founded a smartphone app to detect early signs of post and antenatal depression.
37-year-old Nuala Murphy founded Moment Health a year ago.
The company aims to raise awareness of maternal mental health issues such as post and antenatal depression.
Earlier this month the firm launched a smartphone application to help people detect symptoms of the condition.
Nuala stressed the importance of recognising the signs early:
"We believe in the power of positive technology and Moment Health offers a solution to tackling maternal mental health from pregnancy to parenthood for mums and dads.
"Frighteningly perinatal mental health costs the UK ÂŁ8.1 billion a year and research shows that 70% of women admit they hide or downplay symptoms of mental illness.
"But with early intervention there is an 80-90% recovery rate," she said.
The application includes a mood tracker, symptom checker, online community and treatment locator to help people access support.
Nuala explained how it works:
"It has a few different elements and features to it.
"You've got a symptom checker where you can fill out surveys that your GP would use for example to give you an idea of where you are on the scale and if you need help.
"Mood Tracker, if we track our mood at different stages throughout the day we have a better picture and understanding of maybe triggers and challenges throughout the day.
"This also provides an output for when you go and visit your doctor.
"Then we have our online community which is a closed group posted on facebook that's moderated, where mums new and expectant or mums for a while can go and share any challenges or just get some peer support in their parenting journey."
According to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance one in five women and one in ten men suffer from antenatal or postnatal depression.
Most shockingly, 23% of women who died between six weeks and one year after pregnancy died from mental health related issues.
Nuala says the problem is worse in Northern Ireland:
"We know that here specifically for perinatal mental health is the worst in the UK.
"Because we don't have the support there, we don't have the investment in the services.
"The infrastructure's not right either, referral systems from the GP through to psychiatry or psychologists, the waiting lists are too long for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
"In Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK it's the worst off for specialist needs, for mother and baby unit and it's what prompted the RQIA report last year for what Northern Ireland has to do for perinatal mental health."
The tech entrepreneur wants to see parents' mental health monitored during pregnancy alongside their physical health.
"Really the majority of cases start in pregnancy, only 5% of cases start postpartum and the reason is that we don't screen in pregnancy,"she said.
"The best case scenario would be that mental health and physical health are seen as equal, especially in pregnancy.
"When we're pregnant we have our visits to the doctor or the nurse depending on the pathway we've chosen, but that there's time in those sessions for educational and emotional well being."
Nuala says she has a clear vision for the future in order to improve maternal mental healthcare provision here:
"To actually get maternal mental health on the agenda, on everybody's agenda, not just at home but in the workplace, across society and to make maternal mental health mainstream, so it's a normal conversation.
"That is ultimately what I would love to see."
Moment Health App is available to download free from Apple Store and Google Play