Jenny has been supported by LSCft and during Maternal Mental Health Awareness week wants to reassure new mums, it is okay to ask for help.
A recent survey found that almost 1 in every 5 women will experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the year after birth.
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, running from 1 to 7 May, is a week-long campaign dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during and after pregnancy.
When Jenny fell pregnant in 2021 she was naturally delighted, especially as this came at the end of an emotional IVF journey. Jenny’s pregnancy came with challenges including almost constant sickness, severe pelvic griddle pain and contracting Covid at 36 weeks.
Jenny said:
“During pregnancy is when I first noticed my heightened anxiety, my anxiety presents with physical symptoms including sickness, diarrhoea, palpitations, feeling teary and overwhelmed and heightened senses. I’m registered blind and use a guide dog so having to use crutches due to my pelvic pain was an added complication. I spent the final weeks of my pregnancy in and out of hospital with reduced movement and I knew due to conceiving through IVF I would be advised to be induced at 40 weeks.”
Jenny’s little girl, Theadora was born via emergency C-section in May 2022, more than 48 hours after induction and concerns regarding Theadora’s heart rate during labour. The first few weeks and months after birth are often described as a blur by many new parents and these first few weeks only increased Jenny’s anxious thoughts. Struggling with unbearable colic, an undiagnosed cow’s milk allergy and laryngomalacia meant anxiety around feeding was affecting Jenny’s sleep.
Jenny continues:
“After recognising Theadora’s milk allergy and changing her milk, things started to improve and I felt I was able to start going out and leave the house with Theadora. I vividly remember on one occasion when I decided to travel by bus, I suffered a panic attack and had to call my husband to come and pick us up, after this I reached out to my GP and health visitor as I knew I needed some help.”
This is when Jenny was referred to the LSCft specialist perinatal community mental health team.
Jenny adds:
“I was terrified to ask for help, especially being a disabled parent I was worried someone was going to take Theadora away from me as they would think I couldn’t cope, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The team reassured me it was okay to need some additional support with my mental health and they would help me to start feeling more myself. They firstly changed my medication and referred me to a community psychiatrist and occupational therapist.”
Before becoming a parent Jenny always saw herself as an outgoing confident person, working for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, publically speaking in parliament and enjoying a hectic social life. As Jenny’s mental health continued to deteriorate her confidence disappeared and Jenny stopped leaving the house. She suffered with intrusive thoughts of Theadora coming to harm, regular panic attacks and wouldn’t leave her with anyone else including her husband. This understandably put a strain on relationships with her husband, family and friends.
Following a traumatic incident in October 2022 whilst out pushing the pram, Jenny reached out to the crisis team. During her call to the team Jenny explained how she had started to plan and think about how she would take her own life as she felt like she couldn’t keep her baby safe anymore and the feelings of self-doubt were uncontrollable. After this call Jenny was admitted to Ribblemere, Mother and Baby Unit at Chorley Hospital.
Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is an 8 bed, inpatient facility providing joint hospital admissions for women and their babies when a mother is suffering from a mental health problem and the appropriate treatment and care cannot be provided at home. Ribblemere enables treatment and recovery for mothers whilst remaining alongside their babies allowing their relationships with their babies to develop. The unit is staffed by multidisciplinary teams across psychiatry, nursing and nursery nurse care.
On her admission Jenny comments:
“It is extremely daunting leaving home to be admitted to hospital with your baby especially when you have preconceptions of what a unit might be like. Everyone was so welcoming and I felt relieved to be there as I knew I needed the additional support at that time. All the staff spent time ensuring I was settling in and they really did make life seem easier. I was the first visually impaired patient to have stayed on the unit but they made adjustments to make sure I was comfortable.
The first few weeks were spent amending my medication and really opening up about my true feelings. It felt liberating to know you weren’t being judged, you could be completely honest and knew everyone was there to help you. At times it was like the staff climbed straight into my head as they just understood and supported me. The biggest piece of advice I was given was that I needed to concentrate on three key areas and the rest would improve – my sleep, my diet and taking my medication, and they were right. I was given this opportunity to get better and I knew I needed to embrace it.”
Jenny spent 14 weeks at Ribblemere before being discharged at the start of 2023. During her time Jenny was helped with psychology sessions, occupational therapy sessions, relaxation and anxiety management. Theadora stayed with Jenny and it was important for Jenny that her husband Gareth could visit regularly so with Ribblemere being only 20 minutes from home that was possible.
Robyn Catlow, Team Manager at the Mum and Baby Unit, added:
“Our staff aim to offer tailored care for every family who come in to us, and we hope by working closely with Mums to personalise care plans that we pick up any adjustments or additional support requirements quickly. We know that orientation and settling in to the ward to start treatments quickly is paramount to supporting recovery. We managed to accommodate Jenny’s Guide Dog at times on the ward, and because of this we learnt a lot about how we can support people with visual impairments in the future.
It is all about working together on recovery journeys. Our unit was co-designed by previous inpatients and every aspect has been clearly thought out with mothers and babies in mind. Our environment is warm and welcoming and we encourage family members and loved ones to be involved.”
Stef Maudsley, Nurse Consultant in Perinatal Services continued:
“With the MBU and community teams, and a whole host of other community support options available for Mums experiencing mental health problems in the perinatal period, we couldn’t agree more with Jenny’s advice to other Mums going through difficult times. Please tell someone you trust how you are feeling, and your GP, midwife or heath visitor will be able to refer you for the right level of support. You will be listened to and help is available!”
Jenny is still receiving care in the community but will be officially discharged from Ribblemere outreach team in the next few weeks when they celebrate Theadora’s first birthday.
Jenny concludes:
“I want something positive to come out of my experiences. I want to reassure people it is okay to not be okay and to ask for help, you don’t need to wear a mask if you’re struggling. I’ve been given a platform to share my story and if I can help even one person come forward that is a positive for me.
My recovery felt it really started when I returned home and I was able to put into practise all the mechanisms I was given whilst at Ribblemere. I’m excited for my future and I can’t wait to celebrate my beautiful little girl’s first birthday.”
