Mental Wellbeing before and after having a baby

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Are you expecting a baby, a new parent, or know someone who is?

Perinatal Mental Health can affect mums, dads, and all co parents, and there are some things to look out for in yourself, your partner, or someone you know, that might mean they need some support.

This includes:

• Feeling down, depressed or hopeless
  
• Feeling like you’re losing control
  
• Worrying about the past or future
  
• Finding it hard to sleep
  
• Struggling to concentrate
  
• Feeling argumentative or irritable
  
• Struggling to connect with your bump or your baby
  
• Worried you do not feel the same as others, or that you are not enjoying being a parent
  
• Feeling guilty or blaming yourself for things
  
• Avoiding going out or seeing other people
  
• Feeling worried about your own or your baby’s health
  
• Having thoughts of wanting to harm yourself or others
  
• And non specific body aches and pains
  

If you are experiencing several of these, on most days, you may need some support.

You're not alone. Help is available.

Speak to someone you trust. This could be your family and friends, your Midwife, Health Visitor, GP, or your Barnsley Family Hub.

You can contact your health visitor on 01226 774411 and visit their web page for more information :

💻 0-19 Public Health Nursing Service

You can also find local services for support further down this page.

If perinatal mental illness is left untreated, this can have significant and long-lasting effect on families.

• We know that 1 in 4 new and expectant mums, and up to 1 in 5 dads will experience perinatal mental illness
  
• About 70% of women may downplay or hide the severity of their feelings.
  
• Mums from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities may experience higher rates of postnatal depression and anxiety than other groups
  
• Single mums are about three times more likely to experience periods of depression compared to other groups.
  
• New dads are more likely to develop anxiety during the perinatal period, if they are a new dad and haven’t taken care of a baby previously
  
• 1-2 in 1000 women will develop a serious mental illness in the postnatal period, which is a medical emergency. You can find more information on postpartum psychosis through Action on Postpartum Psychosis 

Children thrive when they feel safe, loved and nurtured, and bonding with your baby lays the ground for children to grow up happy, independent adults.