Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week aims to raise awareness and understanding about mental health problems both during and after pregnancy. The most common form is typically Post Natal Depression, but can also include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. Started by PMHP UK (Perinatal Mental Health Partnership UK) in 2017, the campaign aims to raise public and professional awareness around these concerns, advocate for families and change attitudes.
At Children North East, we want to ensure every child has the happy, healthy start in life they deserve – and this includes caring for expectant mothers too. We offer a range of welcoming and non-judgemental services to help support parents with their emotional wellbeing, creating a support community and developing essential skills to help them thrive.
“You helped me a lot in my bad time. I will never forget you. Because of you, I know I have the strength to be a good mother”
Services range from one-on-one professional support through our Therapeutic Practices services, including Little Minds in Mind. This is our parent-infant service to help you and your baby (up to two years old) develop a healthy relationship. We can work with you if you are a mother, father, grandparent, foster carer or adoptive parent.
Our expert and welcoming team will work closely with you and your family to achieve the very best for you, your baby and family. You will work with a specially trained practitioner, who will get to know you and your baby and develop an understanding with you of the difficulties that are affecting your relationship.
“I can’t thank you enough, your support was amazing, just being able to talk openly and honestly without judgement was so helpful. I felt like a complete failure as a parent but now I feel confident and I am finally enjoying my baby”
We also offer community based support, like Boogie Bairns, Stay & Play and Baby Massage where we encourage families to come together and build their own networks, to one-on-one volunteer support where volunteers are paired with an expectant mother to offer support and guidance.
1 in 5 women experience a perinatal mental health problem
All parents and carers are welcome at our family hub sessions for one to one support or our “preparing for baby” and “baby’s here” group work sessions. Outside factors including previous health issues, lack of support, financial concerns or insecure housing and traumatic experiences, including birth trauma, are all contributing factors to Maternal Mental Health issues and these can affect anyone.
”The sessions have been invaluable, very helpful and have been a sort of ‘Diversional Therapy’. My baby has been engaging and socialising with other babies, and I also learnt new things, and I got clarifications from my worries”
For more information, please contact us on [email protected]
