Perinatal and Infant mental health
Perinatal and Infant mental health
Perinatal mental health
Perinatal mental health refers to parents’ psychological and emotional wellbeing from when you are starting to think about having a baby until your baby is two years old.
Taking steps to improve your mental health before you get pregnant (preconception) can help to reduce the risk of problems during pregnancy and once the baby is here (the post-natal period).
Many mental health conditions can affect parents during the perinatal period. Some mental health conditions are long standing and can be complex, however sometimes they can appear for the first time in pregnancy and can significantly impact the woman/birthing person’s mental health. Most commonly are depression and anxiety relating to parenthood and can range from mild to severe. It is also common to have feelings of being overwhelmed and guilty as a new parent.
In the York region the Perinatal Mental Health Team can only offer support up to 12 months post-natal.
Infant Mental Health
Your relationship with your baby is very important. Having a secure and responsive relationship with your baby can help your baby to thrive and have good infant mental health.
Responsive relationships with their main carers can help to build the connections in your baby’s brain and shape how babies experience their emotions, how they learn to regulate themselves, express themselves and develop. These early relationships are the foundations of mental health for babies, toddlers as they start to engage with the world.
Perinatal and Infant Mental Health looks at both the parents and babies’ mental health and the relationship between both. It is very important because it is estimated that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience perinatal mental health problems and it is the most common health problem experienced in the perinatal period. Up to 50% of fathers may experience depression if their partner has a perinatal mental health problem and we know this can affect babies’ development and ability to form a secure attachment, which is something they need for their future wellbeing. We know there is a higher rate of perinatal mental health in more deprived areas. Early identification and evidence-based support can help prevent or support perinatal and infant mental health.
The good news is, there is a lot of support available.
Getting Advice
If you have existing mental health issues or a family history of mental health issues, you can always talk to your GP, Midwife or Health Visitor to discuss when planning for a baby, when you are pregnant or have had a baby.
Your Midwife
Community Midwifery Services offer one to one support during routine appointments for pregnant and postnatal women. They can refer to the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Midwifery Team (Amethyst Team) for assessment and/or specialist mental health services for additional support.
Your Health Visitor
Having a baby is a very special time but it can also bring lots of new challenges and change! The Healthy Child Service in York is made up of School Nurses, Health Visitors, Healthy Child Nurses and Child Development Workers who work as a team to holistically offer support to babies, children, young people and families. We are not mental health nurses, but we have specialist knowledge in promoting health and wellbeing and much of our work is around prevention. We assess mental health at our contacts.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01904 555 475
Livewell York
Live Well York provide an information and advice community website for all adults. The website is supported by a number of organisations across York, working in partnership. You can use this website to find helpful information and advice, discover hundreds of local groups and activities and find out what events are happening across York. They have a road map for mental health services in York.
Getting Help
Your GP
Your GP can signpost to services, refer into specialist services or prescribe medication if needed. Some GP surgeries have Mental Health first contact workers and can also offer social prescribing. Please contact your GP practice for further details.
Specialist Midwives
The Amethyst Team are a small team of Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Midwives working across the York & Scarborough Trust area. We are all midwives with extra training around supporting people with Perinatal Mental Health. We are not therapists and do not offer psychological interventions, but we are here to support with anxieties around birth and parenthood and support with Birth Planning. We would normally stay involved with families up to 8 weeks post-natal. We work closely with other agencies and mental health teams in the region such as Talking Therapies and the Perinatal Mental Health Team as well as NSPCC Pregnancy in Mind, Health Visiting and Social Care and charities such as Homestart. We can signpost and/or refer women/birthing people to the most appropriate care for them. Our referrals come via Community Midwives or other Midwives/Obstetricians in the Hospitals.
Please speak to your Community Midwife about a referral to The Amethyst Team.
NSPCC Pregnancy in Mind
Pregnancy in Mind is a preventative mental health service designed to support expectant parents who are at risk of, or currently experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety and low mood during their pregnancy. It helps parents manage any difficulties they are experiencing and builds their capacity to provide sensitive, responsive care to their babies through the post-natal period and beyond as their children develop.
Pregnancy in Mind is a perinatal 8-week group intervention delivered by professionals after the first trimester of pregnancy. It aims to protect against the impact of parental anxiety and depression during pregnancy through building relationships, knowledge and skills. Your Midwife can refer you into this service for support.
Emotional Wellbeing visits from your Health Visitor or Healthy Child Nurse
The Healthy Child Service can offer perinatal and infant mental health support from when your baby is born until 12 months old, via early identification, signposting, referral to specialist services and emotional wellbeing visits. Emotional wellbeing visits help clients explore their emotions, adjusting to life with a baby, supporting healthy lifestyles, stress busting activities and self-help.
We work very closely with partners from voluntary and statutory organisations such as Homestart, Talking Therapies, the Mental Health Access Team, the specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team, Social Care, GP’s and Midwifery.
Fathers’ mental health is as important as mothers and babies’ mental health. We are currently piloting workshops for couples called Family Foundations which have a father centric approach, supports the coparenting relationship and the care of babies and children.
Please call on our single point of contact number if you have questions about your perinatal or infant mental health and ask to speak to your Health Visitor, Healthy Child Nurse or our Specialist Health Visitor for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PNIMH).
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01904 555 475
Homestart York
Homestart York support parents with pre-school children, helping them give their children the best possible start in life. Offering a unique, confidential family support service, Home-Starts approach has a proven, lasting, positive impact on the development of children and the health and well-being of their parents. We provide support to families with children under 5 who are finding parenting a challenge due to external stresses such as depression, loneliness, illness or disability. Our team of volunteers visit a parent in their home each week for a few hours to support, empower and motivate, encouraging positive change.
Telephone: 07519 976946
Menfulness
Menfulness bring men together to socialise, exercise, enjoy themselves, talk and let off steam in a non-judgmental, friendly and supportive environment. These are all essential for physical and mental wellbeing.
Email: [email protected]
Kyra
Kyra’s women’s project support women to make change. They are a registered charity in York that exists to help local women make positive and lasting improvements to their lives. They offer a range of 1 to 1 and group support activities and courses for women, from their safe and comfortable, city centre location
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01904 632332
Getting More help
York and Selby Talking Therapies
Talking Therapies is a national NHS programme designed to increase the availability of talking therapy treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Talking Therapies seeks to use the least intrusive method of care possible to treat people. This is often called a ‘stepped care model’ and means that the patient is generally offered a low-intensity therapy in the first instance. Examples of low-intensity treatment would include computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT), psycho-educational courses, guided self-help – over the phone or face to face.
If low-intensity treatments are unsuccessful or inappropriate, then patients can be ‘stepped up’ to a high-intensity therapy. This often takes the form of one-to-one cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
To make sure that the Talking Therapies service is right for you we will first offer you a brief initial assessment. Most are undertaken over the phone, although alternative arrangements can be made if required. At the end of the assessment, we will discuss what help is available within the service.
Where Talking Therapies is not the most suitable service, we can signpost you to alternatives where available.
Email: tewv.yorkselbytalking [email protected]
Telephone: 01904 556840
Perinatal mental health service in North Yorkshire and York
The perinatal community mental health team provides a community service to support women and birthing people who are experiencing mental health difficulties during pregnancy or in the first year after they have had their baby.
The team supports women living in North Yorkshire and York who are either pregnant or up to one year post-natal and who have been suffering with significant mental health difficulties, that requires specialist support from mental health services.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01904 556 724
Mental Health Access Team
The York and Selby Access to Mental Wellbeing Service provide primary care mental health assessments and psychologically informed ‘brief interventions’ which focus on low mood, chronic anxiety and managing difficult emotions. Referrals can be made via GP or other allied services.
Telephone: 01904 556700
Getting risk support
Crisis Team
If someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they can call NHS 111 and select option 2 for mental health. They will speak to a mental health professional who can listen and help them find the right support.
The Yorkshire and Humber Mother and Baby Unit
The Mother and Baby Unit provides specialist care for women who require admission to hospital for significant mental health difficulties in the year following childbirth. Where appropriate they can also admit women in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Telephone: 0113 8555509
