New baby, New feelings - Wandsworth

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New Baby, New Feelings

Pregnancy and the period after childbirth are significant times of change in a person’s life. It is common for women and their partners to experience many different emotions during this time.

The general perception of new parenthood is that it is supposed to be one of the most exciting and happy experiences you’ll ever have. Sometimes, however, the reality is quite different from what you imagined.

Some women experience mental health problems in pregnancy or after birth. These can either be illnesses that women have had before or, for some women, it may be the first time they become unwell. Fathers can also experience many of the same mental health conditions during this time and should seek support in just the same way.

The Perinatal positivity website has some helpful resources and videos you might like to look at.

Why do I feel this way?

There are many reasons why you may experience feelings you hadn’t expected. Childbirth can leave you feeling exhausted and anxious and many parents struggle with the new set of demands a baby brings and the lack of independence and routine. Some babies are born prematurely or are unwell which may cause additional worry and other factors - such as lack of support, isolation, financial pressures or your own experience of being parented - may all affect how you feel. Hormonal and physical changes as well as a lack of sleep can also play a role.

Baby Blues

During the first week after childbirth, many women get what's often called ‘the baby blues’. Women can feel very emotional and may burst into tears for no apparent reason. Some women may also experience feelings of low mood but this is very common and should resolve within a few weeks. If these feelings are lasting for longer please do speak to your Health Visitor or GP.

Anxiety and Postnatal Depression

Anxiety and depression are very common in pregnancy and postnatally.

Symptoms might include:

  • Not being able to enjoy your baby as you expected
  • Feeling anxious most of the time
  • Feeling unable to sleep even when the baby sleeps or feeling like you are sleeping too much
  • Excessively worrying about yourself or your baby leading to feelings of panic
  • Not being able to look forward to things
  • Feeling low or a loss of confidence
  • Changes in appetite
  • Poor concentration
  • Lack of energy or feeling unable to relax
  • Thoughts about harming yourself or your baby

Postpartum Psychosis

Postpartum Psychosis is a very rare but severe episode of mental illness which begins suddenly in the days or weeks after having a baby. Women with a history of severe mental illness (especially Bipolar Disorder), or a family history of mental illness around childbirth are at increased risk, but it can happen to any woman. Symptoms vary and change rapidly but can include: feeling manic, excessively energetic and talkative, being restless, agitated, withdrawn, being very confused, unable to sleep, having racing thoughts, feeling paranoid and suspicious, developing odd thoughts or beliefs and behaviour that is out of character.

It is a medical emergency and you should you should call 999 as soon as possible.

Difficult feelings about the birth

Some women may feel that they have had a traumatic birthing experience and for others pregnancy and childbirth can trigger difficult emotions that can be hard to manage. This is something you can discuss with your midwife or health visitor who can advise you regarding where to get further help.

What to do if you feel any of these things?

If you think you or someone you know could be experiencing a problem with their mental health, then it is important to talk about it and to get help.

Speak to a health professional - talk to your midwife, health visitor and GP. The more people who know how you’re feeling the more support you’ll receive. Midwives have specialist teams that can offer you pregnancy-specific support, health visitors can do additional visits as well as help support the parent-infant relationship and GPs can discuss different treatment options. If a postpartum psychosis is suspected this is an emergency and you should call 999.

What else can help?

Simple self-nurturing activities can also help you to feel better. Getting proper rest, eating healthily and regularly, and getting some exercise - even just a short walk - are all things that you can do to help protect your emotional health. Building supportive relationships with other local parents through antenatal groups or by accessing playgroups at the children’s centres can help you to feel less isolated and talking things over with a trusted person is also very important.

Be kind to yourself and don’t try to be a superhero. Ask for help if you need it and accept as much practical support as possible during the first few weeks. Remind yourself regularly of the new skills you have learned as well as other talents you have and reward yourself when you have done something successfully.

Health Visitors will be asking about your mental health at every contact. If you are struggling with your mental health then your health visitor can offer you additional home visits to support you with this. These are called emotional wellbeing visits and they are an opportunity for you to express how you are feeling without judgement.

If you require further support then your health visitor can advise you about additional services and refer you to them. In some cases, your health visitor may also suggest a referral to the specialist perinatal mental health team. If you wish, your health visitor can work together with these other teams to provide you with effective, coordinated care.

We provide advice and support to all Wandsworth families in the antenatal period, following birth of a baby and up until that child is 5 years old.

Wandsworth 0-19 Single Point of Access (SPA)

If you would like to enquire about emotional wellbeing visits or want information about other services you can speak to a member of our duty team or request to be contacted by your allocated health visitor.

Your health visitor may suggest putting time aside to discuss what concerns you might have about your emotional wellbeing. These can also provide you with time to talk through how you and your family are adjusting to having a new baby. If you feel emotional wellbeing visits would be beneficial, please get in touch with your health visitor.

‘Understanding Your Baby group’ Support group for mothers with low mood and/or anxiety (run by Health Visiting) 

For Wandsworth mothers with babies under 10 months old who are experiencing feelings of low mood and/or anxiety or where there is a difficulty with the parent-infant relationship. Babies are included in the group.

2 hour group running for 8 weeks (2 groups running 3 times/year). Mothers must be able to attend at least 6/8 of the weeks. Groups are held at a local Children’s Centre.

The group aims to provide a framework for thinking about parent-infant relationships and support mothers to recognise their own feelings and needs, as well as those of their baby.

If you would like to be referred to the group speak to your Health Visitor, GP or Children’s Centre worker and they can refer you or for more information you can email the Single Point of Access who will link you with the Specialist Health Visitor for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health.

Wandsworth 0-19 Single Point of Access (SPA)

Talk Wandsworth

Service provides free confidential help for problems such as stress, worry and low mood. Service offers talking therapies for people over the age of 18. You can refer yourself or you can be referred by a healthcare professional such as your GP or Health visitor. We can offer a range of digital options to have your therapy e.g video, phone, text or face to face if you would prefer this method.

Maintaining your Wellbeing as A New Parent workshops.

Course aims:

  • Identify the joys and challenges of parenting a newborn, be it the first time or not.
  • Acknowledge the high demands of those early days, months or years, and offer tips and strategies to help parents not only survive but find aspects to reflect and maybe even enjoy.
  • Provide strategies, resources and tips to help make the page one of fulfilment.
  • Focus on maintaining your wellbeing as a new parent.
  • Exploring the importance of self-care and self-compassion in your new role as a parent.

To book please sign up via EventBrite. Duration 3h.

Preparing for Parenthood - Online Workshop

This workshop aims to discuss maintaining wellbeing during the antenatal period through discussing different topics such as the transition from pregnancy to having a baby; expectations versus reality; relationships and communication; bonding with the baby; self-care and coping strategies. Duration: 3 hours

To book place please sign up via EventBrite. Location: Talk Wandsworth, 56 Tooting High Street, SW17 0RN
 

SWL St George’s Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Team

The service works with women who are either pregnant or in the first year following the birth of their baby and present with moderate to severe mental health problems or with high risk factors for perinatal mental health problems due to past history or family history. Women with known history of mental illness on psychotropic medication are eligible for pre-conception counselling and advice.

The team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, nursery nurses, an occupational therapist and a social worker.

Your GP or Health Visitor can refer you to the service or you can call 0203 513 6577 (Mon-Fri 9-5) to discuss with the team directly.

Website: SWL St George’s Mental Health - Perinatal Mental Health

Chelsea and Westminster Parent-Infant Psychotherapy Team

A specialist psychotherapy team linked to the St George's perinatal team. This therapy aims to address and change any negative patterns of behaviour within the parent-infant relationship.  The psychotherapy team focuses on integrating the mental health needs of the parent and baby, whilst recognising that there are often complex mental health problems linked to the parent’s past. Parents are encouraged to attend the sessions with their babies.  

Referral criteria guideline:

  • Severe antenatal/postnatal anxiety disorders
  • Severe antenatal/postnatal depression
  • Personality disorders
  • Impaired attachment in the parent-infant relationship
  • Adjustment disorder
  • Previous birth related trauma
  • Disturbed representation of the baby in the parent’s state of mind

You can be referred by your Health Visitor or your GP.

Website: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital - Perinatal Service

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Therapy Service (Under 5s)

This is a free early intervention service with a team of clinicians who are experienced in working with children under 5 years old and who aim to support health emotional and social development in children. This service is for families who have children presenting with the following difficulties:

  • Crying
  • Feeding
  • Toileting
  • Tantrums
  • Sleep problems
  • Behaviour difficulties
  • Separation anxiety
  • Developmental difficulties
  • Worries about communication
  • Overactive child
  • Parenting difficulties
  • Family relationship issues
  • Feeling stuck

The service run groups and also offers 1-1 therapy. To use this service, referrals can be made by your Health Visitor, GP, Speech and Language Therapist, Nursery or Children’s Centre.

Support Offered by Local Charities (no charge)

Home-Start: A local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with children under 5 through challenging times. Families struggling with postnatal depression, isolation, physical health problems, bereavement and many other issues receive the support of a volunteer who will spend around two hours a week in a family’s home supporting them in the ways they need. Specially matched volunteers can provide a range of support such as a listening ear, practical support such as playing with the children whilst a parent can have a shower or a rest and assisting parents to get to a playgroup or counselling session. Home-start also run groups, workshops and holiday outings. For more information or to be referred speak to your Health Visitor or visit Home Start Wandsworth.

Cedar House Postnatal Depression Support Group (Balham) - Group providing a safe and supportive environment for mothers experiencing postnatal depression. Meets weekly for 2 hours on Friday mornings (term-time only). Usually 10-12 mums with a crèche facility.
For more information see Cedar House - Post Natal Depression Support Group.

Parental Mental Health Support Service (formely known as NewPIN)

A supporting service for children aged 0-7 with parents requiring support with their mental health. PMHS provides play sessions across 4 sites across the week in Wandsworth, that aim to improve parent –child relationships, support healthy emotional development and increase children’s resilience

PMHS provide family support, access to mental health and wellbeing courses, parenting groups and classes, crèche and outreach support, this can include working with families in their home and in the community.

PMHS operates its service across 4 sites Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:30 to 3:30.

  • Somerset
  • Yvonne Carr
  • Roehampton Lane
  • Siward Road

To be referred please speak to your GP, Health Visitor, professional from Perinatal Mental Health Team or Community Mental Health team.

Chelsea and Westmintser Hospital Digital Living Library

This programme is set up to help parents who have had unexpectedly difficult or challenging birth-related experiences and need support after leaving the postnatal ward or maternity care.​ We are also able to assist grandparents who would like the support of another grandparent.

You can get more information on this link.

Baby Steps

Peer support service for those who experience mental health difficulties in their first years of parenthood. It is hosted by two facilitators with lived experience of postpartum mental illness and are fully recovered now and working as peer supporters in SWLSTG. It is for parents under SWLST Perinatal mental health services who had babies in the last 24months and are currently struggling.

Sessions take place online on Tuesdays fortnightly, 7.30-9.30pm.

To book your place, please contact Fiona.putnam@swlstg.nhs.uk

Breathe Melodies for Mums Wandsworth

Based on ground-breaking research by the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London, Breathe Melodies for Mums offers a unique, supportive, and empowering approach, that puts mothers at the heart.

Breathe Melodies for Mums is a programme offering an experience of joy to sing together with other women and their babies? Not only will you find yourself surrounded by a supportive group of women facing similar experiences, but you will also discover new ways of expressing yourself through music, without fear of judgement.

To register your interest please follow the link below:

Registration Form - Breathe Melodies for Mums Wandsworth - Breathe (breatheahr.org)

Providing feedback on our services

It is important for us to hear what you think of our services so that we know what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements. Whether you wish to pay us a compliment, raise a concern or make a formal complaint, our patient advice and liaison service (PALS) team are here to help and all feedback given will be kept confidential.

You can find out more about how to provide feedback here.

If you would like to complete a patient story please speak to the team CLCH health team. Patient stories are a chance for you to share more information about your experiences of being cared for by our services. We collect patient stories in multiple different ways including videos, written stories, pictures and conversations with you that we then type. 

Contacting our PALS team

  • Telephone: 0800 368 0412
  • Email: clchpals@nhs.net
  • Post: PALS team, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, 5-7 Parsons Green, London, SW6 4UL

Providing feedback on this website

We want this website to be helpful to you and your family and welcome feedback on how we can improve it. If you spot anything that's incorrect, confusing or have suggestions for how we can make it better please email us on clcht.health.matters@nhs.net this mailbox will be checked weekly and should not be used for urgent or clinical requests.

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