Dr Green adds; “If you want to spend time online, use apps and websites that will help you as a parent. It’s important that we don’t dismiss all social media. Findings from surveys of women, such as ‘Falling Through the Gaps’ (Centre for Mental Health) and ‘Maternal Mental Health – Women’s Voices’, have identified the significant support women with mental health problems experience through specific websites, apps and other forms of social media.”
- Apps and websites such as “Mush” (letsmush.com) and Netmums (www.netmums.com) help you connect with other mums so that you can share the ups and downs of parenting and avoid being isolated.
- Netmums offers parent supporters and a free online “helping with depression course” based on cognitive behavioural therapy.
- Websites for charities such as PANDAS Foundation, Maternal OCD and Action on Postpartum Psychosis offer information and support about specific mental health problems. Online forums can link you to other parents with similar problems.
- Twitter support groups, such as #PNDHour, are invaluable for women and partners to link up with others experiencing similar difficulties.
- High quality information about various mental health problems during and after pregnancy is available on The Royal College of Psychiatrists Health Advice website and App, and the Tommy’s website. The Baby Buddy App gives has informative video clips.
If you need further help consider:
- Self-referral to your local IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies). These services offer free talking therapies and usually give priority to women during pregnancy and in the first year after birth. You can often take your baby to the appointment. Dads can access IAPT too.
- Depending on the severity of your mental health problems, you could be referred to a Perinatal Mental Health Service – ask your GP if there is one near you.
- The Priory Group, the mental healthcare specialists, have Wellbeing Centres for outpatients, and hospitals which can help mothers – and partners – with a range of mental health problems. The Priory Wellbeing Centre in Harley Street has a specialist Parenthood, Pregnancy & Family Life service. Women and partners can be seen from when they start to plan a pregnancy, during pregnancy and any time after birth. Experts offer a range of psychological therapies, including parent-infant, couple and family therapy. Women can also have specialist advice about using medication in pregnancy and breastfeeding. The aim is to help women stay as well as possible and enjoy family life.
1 Fieldwork period: 11th – 14th September 2017, among 1,002 parents of under -18s, of whom 452 were men
Priory’s Wellbeing Centres
Across the UK, Priory’s Wellbeing Centres bring swift access to patients in need of mental healthcare. Priory is an approved provider for all the UK’s leading private medical insurers. Wellbeing Centres have been opened in Birmingham, Southampton, Canterbury, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, London (Fenchurch St) and Oxford. The Priory Group recently opened its first overseas Wellbeing Centre, in Dubai.
About Priory Group
The Priory Group is the leading provider of behavioural care in the UK caring for around 30,000 people a year for conditions including depression, stress, drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders and self-harming. The Group is organised into three divisions – healthcare, education and children’s services, and adult care. The Priory Group is owned by NASDAQ-listed Acadia Healthcare, which is recognised as a global leader in behavioural health. Read about Priory in the media, and see how Priory is changing people’s lives for the better in our new videos.
