Healthwatch calls on health professionals in Somerset to enable new parents to talk about mental health
A new report exploring the experiences of women with mental health problems during the journey to parenthood has found that many people are not experiencing the consistent support they should expect if services were following NHS guidelines.
Published today by Healthwatch England, the report – Mental health and the journey to parenthood – focuses on a survey of 1,738 women and draws on the research undertaken by Healthwatch Somerset. These women reported either having a mental health condition diagnosed by a doctor before, during or after having a baby or they said they had experienced a mental health problem which had not been diagnosed.
With the NHS committed to providing maternal mental health support for more than 30,000 extra women by 2020/21, the work undertaken by Healthwatch can help local services understand what’s working for new mothers and what isn’t.
Variable mental support for new parents
However, the national and local research also indicates that many women are not experiencing support that meets national NICE guidelines which set out what mothers should expect when it comes to the recognition, assessment and treatment of mental health problems during and after pregnancy.
Action needed to tackle fear and promote mental wellbeing
With one in four women experiencing mental health problems in pregnancy and the 24 months after birth, analysis of the stories women shared also highlights the need to provide more opportunities for new parents and health professionals to talk about mental health during the journey to parenthood.
Common themes highlighted by the experiences of women include:
- The range of issues that can help contribute to mental health problems: Severe pregnancy sickness, the physical health of babies, a history of mental health problems, feelings of isolation and a lack of empathy from professionals can all play their part.
- People don’t know where to turn for help: Despite the increased focus on NHS support for mental health, women told us about not being given enough information about the mental health support available and what to do if they need help.
- Women feel scared about speaking up: Even though women know they are struggling with their mental health, factors such as fear that they will be judged as bad parents or healthcare staff attitudes can act as a barrier to seeking support.
Sharing her experience Kristy said: “I fell into this feeling of failure. I’ve failed to breastfeed. I’ve failed to have a girl. I’ve failed to create the perfect family. I didn’t recognise I was ill, I just thought I had failed, that the boys deserved a better mother, and I thought everything would be better once I was physically well. I was so ashamed to talk about how I was feeling, because we’re told how lucky we are to have a baby.
“There needs to be more support for women who are pregnant and aren’t well. I started feeling so miserable when I was pregnant because I couldn’t enjoy it and no one understood. I didn’t know what obstetric cholestasis was until I got it and if I’d been able to reach out and get some support, it might have made it easier.”
Other national findings
When asked about the support they had received:
- A third of women (33%) who had a diagnosed mental health condition said they were not given any advice about maternity and mental health at any point.
- Nearly half (47%) of all women described getting support for their mental health as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’.
- More than half of all women (58%) said they did not get a care plan that considered their maternity and mental health needs, while 36% reported not feeling involved in decisions about their care.
- A third of all women (36%) rated the quality of mental health support given by health professionals (e.g. GPs, midwives and health visitors) as poor or very poor.
Commenting on the findings Judith Goodchild, Chair of Healthwatch Somerset, said: “This new Healthwatch England report highlights more needs to be done to make sure all women get the right help, at the right time. We welcome feedback from new parents in Somerset so they can share their experiences of local health services to help shape and improve these services for future patients.”
