Cornwall to get special mental health hub for new mothers, mums-to-be and those who've lost a baby
It is one of the first 10 sites to be built across the country
Cornwall is getting a special mental health hub for new mothers, mums-to-be and those who have lost a baby.
The Duchy is one of the first 10 sites that will offer support for everything from PTSD to fear of giving birth.
Another 16 will be open across the country by next April.
The 26 new hubs will bring together maternity services, reproductive health and psychological therapy under one roof as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
“The pregnancy and the birth of a new child are a special time for families but if things go wrong it can have a huge impact on women, their partners and even other children.
“That is why the NHS is developing maternal mental health services to help them get back on track as part of our Long Term Plan.
“NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to deal with more than 393,000 patients requiring hospital treatment for Covid-19 but we have also kept mental health services running and I am delighted that, we are now expanding help for new, expectant and bereaved mums despite the continuing pandemic.”
NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens
As well as offering psychological therapies for new and expectant mums the clinics will also provide training for maternity staff and midwives.
Ten sites will be up and running within months with the remainder opening by April 2022.
Every area will have one by April 2024 as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to increase access to psychological support for women before, during and after pregnancy.
“Every woman has a unique experience with pregnancy and motherhood and some will need extra support to cope with mental health issues that can range from anxiety to severe depression so I am delighted that mothers across all areas of the country will be able to access this help if they need it.
“The NHS is here for everyone who needs help and the expansion of specialist care through the roll out of these maternal mental health services will strengthen the services already in place, enabling us to improve the quality of care and outcomes for many women.
“I would encourage any mum who needs this support to come forward safe in the knowledge that her mental health and well-being are of paramount importance and she should not feel ashamed of accessing the help she needs.”
Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national mental health director
It is estimated that it costs the NHS and social care sector £1.2 billion per year where women do not access high-quality perinatal mental health services.
“I feel happier, more confident and much better in my mental health..."
The Devon MMHS went live in January 2021. To date, 36 referrals have been made, 27 women have been assessed and ten women have started or completed treatment.
Lizzie had a miscarriage prior to her current pregnancy. This experience triggered low mood, a sense of lost safety and heightened danger, nightmares and intrusions around the miscarriage and a lack of excitement about the new baby.
In pregnancy, Lizzie was referred to the Perinatal Mental Health Team (PMHT) by her Midwife, and it was identified that an assessment under the MMHS would be appropriate.
At assessment, an Impact of Events Scale was used to identify clinical levels of PTSD. The MMHS offered up to eight sessions of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories; this intervention was able to reach Lizzie’s core worry that the miscarriage was her fault, and the sessions of EMDR were successful in working through this.
This freed Lizzie up to start feeling excitement towards the new baby, while continuing to remember the lost baby and not feel that she was responsible for what happened.
Through this work, all the identified symptoms of PTSD, as well as her feelings of low mood and loss of safety disappeared. Lizzie was discharged after three sessions of EMDR with significant improvement and evidence of good recovery, therefore reducing risk of negative impact in the future for her and her children.
The Clinical Psychologist in the MMHS who completed the assessment and treatment on this case said: “The MMHS gave Lizzie fast access to brief treatment which had a significant impact on her mental health, the difficulties were affecting her relationship with her unborn baby whilst also making day to day life a struggle. Brief treatment enabled the processing of loss and renewed possibility of bonding and being excited about and preparing for her new baby.”
Several weeks after she had completed her treatment, and having had her baby girl Enfys, Lizzie said: “I feel unbelievably better after this pregnancy and birth compared to how I felt after my experience with my first child when there wasn’t any support available to me; even with the added distress of having a miscarriage, the pressures of Covid-19 restrictions and not being able to see my family.
“I feel happier, more confident and much better in my mental health. I feel fully recovered. The service was brilliant!”