Family mental health
Family mental health
What happens in the first few years of a child’s life can shape their whole life.
Looking after your own mental health and wellbeing is important as a parent or carer.
Parenting is a full-time job and whilst it can be very rewarding, it can also be tiring and stressful. When parents take care of themselves the whole family benefits. Even young children are tuned into how their parents are feeling.
Whilst it's natural to experience a range of emotions as a parent, if difficult feelings start to have a big effect on your day-to-day life, you may be experiencing a mental health problem.
Many parents struggle with their mental health at times. For example, 1 in 10 new mothers experience postnatal depression within a year of giving birth and up to 38% of first-time fathers worry about their mental health.
If you're struggling with how you're feeling, you're not alone, and support is available.
With the right support most people make a full recovery.
You can visit these sites to get support:
- IAPT is a local NHS programme for access to psychological therapies
- York Women’s Counselling provide affordable counselling for women in York and surrounding areas
- Crisis team provide specialist assessment for people aged 16 and over who need urgent mental health care
- Samaritans provide a confidential emotional support service for anyone in distress or experiencing suicidal thought and feelings
- 121 Counselling is an independent voluntary counselling service
You can also access support from your Midwife or Health Visitor from the Healthy Child Service, Local Area Coordinator or GP.
The Healthy Child Service offer support and information to families experiencing specific difficulties such as anxiety, postnatal depression, social isolation and domestic abuse. Health visitors offer Perinatal mental health listening visits (to mothers up to 1 year following birth of child) and work in partnership with partner agencies to support families and can refer to specialist services.
Lots of support is available within your local community. Visit Live Well York for mental health information.
In addition, visit these sites for further support:
- PANDAS foundation offers postnatal Depression awareness and support
- Association for postnatal illness offers friendly advice and listening support
- The NHS has evidence based self help guides for mental health
- get urgent help for mental health visit the NHS website for information
- Centre for Interactive Mental Health Services
- Anxiety UK
- OCD Action online support groups
Your relationship with your partner
Find advice and support around healthy relationships in parenting.
Mental health and wellbeing support for all the family
The Institute of health visitor’s have lots of useful parenting tips on:
- getting to know your baby
- accessing health visiting support for you and your family
- emotional health and wellbeing for fathers
- emotional health and wellbeing for mothers
In addition, find support from:
- Maternal mental health alliance creates campaigns for all women throughout the UK who experience a perinatal mental illness to receive the care that they and their families need
- Relate provide counselling service to individuals, couples, children, young people and families
- Raise York coping with crying has information for parents on coping with crying and support
- Homestart York is a city wide network, linking families with other services and providing support for families
- Dad pad is the essential guide for new dads, developed with the NHS. There is a free app available or a wipe-clean page book to purchase
- The Mental Health Foundation and The Fatherhood Institute have a useful resource for you, as you become a dad
Birth Trauma
Birth trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after birth can affect women and some partners or families too, from witnessing a traumatic birth.
Find support from:
- The Institute of Health Visitors (IHV) experts have developed parenting tips for coping with a traumatic birth
- The Birth Trauma Association help people traumatised by childbirth
Infant feeding
The Breastfeeding Network have information about anxiety and depression and also taking mental health medication while breastfeeding.
Find out more about:
- breastfeeding and perinatal mental health
- feeling anxious and breastfeeding
- feeling depressed and breastfeeding
- antidepressants and breastfeeding
Postnatal mental health videos
Watch the following videos about:
