Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2026

We sit together, laughing and combing the nits out of our daughter’s hair and remind ourselves how far we’ve come. The moments we now cherish—the seemingly “normal,” often chaotic moments of parenthood—are ones we never imagined we would feel deeply grateful for back in 2015.

At that time, our world was completely upended. Just days after giving birth, I was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, a diagnosis that led me being separated from our newborn daughter and admitted to an acute adult psychiatric unit. The journey from there was nothing short of terrifying. We had no idea how—or if—I would recover. The experience was isolating, scary, and we were overwhelmed by questions of whether life would ever feel “normal” again.

Through this dark time, we encountered some incredible health professionals and individuals who helped us navigate a challenging, unfamiliar and often disconnected healthcare system. I did not have access to a mother and baby unit, or a specialist perinatal mental health team in North Wales at the time. I was fortunate to be in the position where my husband could advocate for me, and we came across a specialist psychiatry service through the UK charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP).

Eventually, I accessed the treatment I needed, which was medication, psychological therapy, peer support and a supportive network of family and friends. With the right treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), I began my long road to recovery. The support we received from Action in Postpartum Psychosis, in conjunction with clinical care, was invaluable and undoubtedly saved my life.

Today, we are lucky to be able to do the things we love as a family, but also share simple moments with our daughter, like laughing together about nits. That is something we will never take for granted.

I know how much the perinatal mental health landscape has evolved since we needed support but also recognise that there is still work to be done. Women are still dying from maternal mental illness and the trauma associated with perinatal mental illness can be devastating.

Which is why I continue to help raise awareness and advocate for families. I now work for APP, coordinating health professional training in postpartum psychosis. I am also part of the Helix Forum, where I work with a group of incredible individuals who are working towards improving care for those who will experience similar illnesses in the future.

Pathway Management

This part of my role involves management of pathways for patients through the Mother and Baby Unit and back out into the community. This means working with our Mother and Baby Units to   ensure the right people are in the right beds as close to home as possible. I have oversight of pathways through admission, treatment and discharge of individual patient journeys including any patients from Cheshire and Merseyside who are placed out of area.

Quality Assurance of Care and Treatment

My role also involves the quality assurance of the care and treatment of all patients from Cheshire and Merseyside that are placed within a Mother and Baby Unit. I undertake 6-8 weekly in person visits to the ward for individual review of care and treatment and this includes a review with all patients to obtain their views on their treatment, progress and overall admission. I am also a point of contact for patients and their families as well as clinicians and will support all involved to ensure care is appropriate, evidence based and collaborative.

I regularly liaise with regional and national forums to support shared learning and quality improvement which I can then share with our local Mother and Baby Unit to support patients as well as supporting strategic planning for future service commissioning improvements.

Strategic planning

As one of the strategic leads for Helix my role involves supporting the Lead Provider Collaborative in forward strategic planning of commissioning services. This involves working with our Helix Experts by Experience forum and the work completed this forum supports my role in strategic planning as the future plans for perinatal commissioning are heavily based on Expert by Experience views.