I am delighted to be able to publish today a guest blog for the #MatExp campaign from Mr Raja Gangopadhyay.  Raja is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with special area of clinical interest in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) from West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a member of the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (RCOG).

Raj capture

I would like to take this opportunity to share my views on why I feel so strongly about the role of the Maternity Services in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH).

Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) has two important components in its terminology: ‘Perinatal’ (period during pregnancy, delivery and post delivery) and ‘Mental Health’. Therefore the care of mums in the Maternity Services during this vital period is of utmost importance in PMH: it should be a no-brainer.

But sadly, PMH is the only one area of Maternal Health where I do not see a strong voice of the Maternity Services in the national campaign.

This has remained ‘Cinderella’ within Maternity Units in spite of the glaring facts:

  • PMH is still one of the leading causes of maternal death in the UK.

  • This is one of the most prevalent conditions mums suffer from during their pregnancy and postpartum period (at least 10% of mums suffering from this).

I strongly believe that without robust ‘perinatal’ care, women would continue to suffer and die from PMH illnesses, no matter how much we spend to expand specialist Mother and Baby Units (MBUs).

Therefore this is the time when we must recognise this important area and raise awareness.

I am trying to address this issue through my campaign on social media and as the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist’s (RCOG) Representative to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA).

What do I mean by PMH ‘within’ Maternity Services?

Suffering and deaths from PMH illnesses are often preventable if appropriate measures are taken during pregnancy and in the immediate postpartum period.

A prevalent health condition like PMH must be managed with the same readiness as managing other medical conditions in pregnancy such as diabetes, high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia) or heart disease.

The only way to ensure that the women with PMH are appropriately cared for according to the NICE guideline (2014) is to have:

  • A dedicated PMH team within every Maternity Service:

A Consultant Obstetrician, Specialist Midwife, a Perinatal Psychiatrist, a Specialist Psychiatry Nurse and a Paediatrician should jointly lead this service locally. The service should be easily accessible to the mums.

  • A dedicated Obstetric-Psychiatry Antenatal clinic

  • Communication with Community Team:

This Maternity Service should have clear links with GP, Health Visitor (HV), community MH Team, Liaison Psychiatry services, Mental Health Crisis Team, Children and Young People services, Peer Support groups and other charitable organisations.

  • Robust Care Pathway:

There should be a clear pathway for risk assessment (at the booking visit and at every consultation), early identification and treatment. There also should be provision of a multi-professional team meeting on a regular basis.

  • Dedicated specialist service and support:

For conditions such as PTSD / birth trauma, fear of pregnancy and child birth (‘tocophobia’), bereavement and support for mums and dads whose babies are admitted to NICU.

  • Pre-pregnancy advice service:

It is important to have specialist advice and support for women (with PMH illness/ traumatic experience in previous pregnancy) who are considering pregnancy.

  • Patient involvement : ‘Patients first and foremost’

PMH is an area where patients’ opinion must be considered in developing local care pathways. Services must be evaluated on a regular basis based on patient experience.

I firmly believe that all the health conditions should be treated in the same way with professional expertise and kindness and without any prejudice. I am not sure why we still classify health conditions into ‘physical’ and ‘mental’ when there is often an overlap.

Psychological care in pregnancy, delivery and beyond…

It is unfortunate that psychological care has remained a very neglected part within Maternity Services. The reason given for this is ‘the staff are too busy’.

However pregnancy is probably a period of life where psychological support from the HCPs is needed the most.

It is especially important when mums could potentially have severe stress during pregnancy and the postpartum period due to the following factors:

  • Previous history of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, IVF, traumatic childbirth.

  • Any other family member or friend has had complicated childbirth experience.

  • Sudden life event such as breakdown in family relation/divorce, loss of employment, bereavement in the family or loved one, relocation/migration and domestic violence.

  • Sexual abuse in childhood or pregnancy as a result of sexual violence.

  • Associated pregnancy complications (for example premature rupture of membrane, high blood pressure, diabetes, concerns on baby’s growth or SPD).

PMH is not only PND and Puerperal Psychosis (PP)…

Many believe that PMH is a term equivalent to the care of Postnatal Depression (PND) and PP.

PMH includes specialised care for women (during pregnancy and one year after the childbirth) with any mental health condition (such as anxiety, depression, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, OCD, eating disorder, and personality disorders).

PMH must include bereavement care (miscarriage, still birth and neonatal death), traumatic birth experience/PTSD, support services for mums and dads whose babies are admitted to NICU and tocophobia (fear of pregnancy and childbirth).

Another important component should be the psychological care of mums and dads throughout the journey of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period.

PMH, in my view, must be recognised as a separate subspecialty in the training of Obstetricians and Midwives.

Womb

Why is identification in pregnancy and immediate postpartum period so important?

  • Effects of psychological stress in pregnancy:

There are now plenty of research results, which indicate the long-term impact of stress during pregnancy on the brain development of the baby while it is in mum’s womb. Prof Vivette Glover, an eminent Professor of Perinatal Psychology from Imperial College London, explains this: http://www.beginbeforebirth.org/for-schools/films#womb

Therefore timely intervention and adequate support during pregnancy can prevent long-term effects on the child.

  • Care Planning to prevent serious illness:

All pregnant women with risk factors to develop worsening mental health conditions should have a plan of care during delivery and postpartum period.

Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths have repeatedly pointed out that in the majority of cases of deaths from suicide, there is a lack of care planning during pregnancy.

This is only possible through appropriate care within the Maternity Services and multiagency communication.

  • Enjoying the journey of pregnancy:

Experience of pregnancy and birth creates a lasting memory for the mums and dads for the years to come. Therefore this should be an enjoyable experience for the woman and her family to cherish in happiness in the future.

As HCPs our role is to ensure we support and empower women to make informed choices for the safety of her and the baby and most important of all a very positive birth experience.

  • Helping mums to make informed decision regarding medications:

Mums should get proper advice regarding the use of medication in pregnancy and after delivery.

Pregnancy is a short window but an excellent opportunity to address health conditions.

  • Bonding and attachment:

PMH conditions can adversely affect the bonding with the baby and the mum.

‘A stitch in time saves nine’: Prevention of serious PMH illnesses is only possible through good care in Maternity Services.

Guardian capture

Having discussed the importance of the role of Maternity Services in PMH, now let us find out what is happening in the Maternity Units……

A journey of revelations…

I contacted many Maternity Units across the country to find out the provision of PMH services within their Units. What I found was extraordinary.

I raised my concerns in a letter published in The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/14/perinatal-mental-health-provision-badly-lacking .

I raised this issue with the Maternity Review Team, during my meeting in September (2015).

Although there are examples of good service, the overall structure within the Maternity Units is very poor:

  • Often there is no dedicated Lead Obstetrician and/or Specialist PMH midwife

  • Many Units do not have formal debriefing services (for traumatic birth experience), specialist bereavement midwives and support system for parents with babies admitted to NICU.

  • There are hardly any dedicated services for women with fear of childbirth.

Delving deep into the challenges….

To have a better understanding of the need, I embarked on a journey to meet professionals from all the relevant Royal Colleges (RCOG, RCM, RCPsych, RCGP), Health Visitor organisations, Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), MPs and All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), NHS England, CCGs and other national Campaign Groups.

It was revealed that overall there is very little understanding of the vital role of the Maternity Services in PMH.

Thankfully RCM is campaigning for a Specialist Midwife in every Maternity Unit.

But the main barriers are the following:

  • Lack of Mapping of the existing services in PMH within Maternity Units (such as the MMHA map of the available Perinatal Psychiatry services).

  • Lack of a national standard of the service provision within Maternity Units (according to the number of deliveries and complexity of cases).

  • Poor collaborative work among HCPs: as often the Maternity Electronic record system is not accessible to other HCPs and vice versa.

  • Lack of standard Training programme for the Obstetricians and the Midwives.

  • Lack of adequate focus on PMH illnesses in Antenatal Education.

I have concerns that unless these issues are resolved appropriately, we cannot provide the best quality of care for women with PMH illnesses.

With the best of my abilities, I am currently working closely with other national organisations to address these areas.

Maternity HCPs: Please, please do something and don’t wait for things to happen….

Charles Dickens

It is true that funding is necessary to set up specialised PMH services and Mother and Baby Units (MBU). However Maternity Units should not wait for the approval of their business cases.

In my humble opinion, funding is not everything. Our professional values are the most important factors in patient care:

  • Kindness:

Simple measures such as a smile, empathy and a willingness to listen to the concerns of the mums and dads could make a huge difference in patient experience.

  • Communication:

Take every opportunity to explain the situation and ensure that appropriate wording is used during communication.

  • Continuity of care:

Try to ensure continuity whenever possible or communicate adequately with the rest of your team.

  • Local Alliance:

Please try to develop Local Alliances with Community Midwives, Health Visitors, GPs, all available community mental health services, Peer Support groups and children’s services.

This could significantly improve communication among the multi-agency teams in caring for mums with PMH illnesses.

  • Listen to concerns:

Please create opportunities to listen to the concerns of the user group. This may be in the form of promoting your local Maternity Service Liaison Committee (MSLC) or Patient Panels.

If possible, please read the real life stories of the Lived Experiences on the Internet: it would help you to think ‘outside the box’, have a better insight into the PMH illnesses and give you inspiration.

  • Raise awareness:

Arrange patient engagement events, Road shows or Community Events with local CCGs.

Participate in Social Media support, such as #PNDHour (Wednesday 8-9pm) and #BirthTraumaChat (Monday 8-9pm):

This would help to raise awareness, remove stigma and give mums and dads a ray of hope.

  • Arrange training on PMH:

Please ensure all staff are adequately trained in your local Units.

  • Get involved in your Regional PMH network:

Many regions now have regional PMH Networks. This could be an important place for information sharing among the Maternity Units.

  • Please do not forget dads:

There is now good evidence to support that dads can suffer from PTSD/PND. Please take every opportunity to support and communicate with dads.

  • Keep yourself updated:

PMH is a rapidly evolving area; therefore HCPs must keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date through continuous professional development.

If unsure, please seek help and escalate to your senior colleagues: an unsafe advice from a HCP could endanger an invaluable life.

Working together to make a difference…

We ALL need to work together to prevent suffering and death from PMH illnesses.

If you have any suggestions for improving PMH services within Maternity Units, I would be very keen to know (Twitter: @RajaGangopadhyay3).

If you are involved in good projects locally or are aware of any good practice, please share with everyone through #MatExp.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to #MatExp for giving me this opportunity to write this blog.

I am immensely grateful to all the Lived Experiences for sharing their stories, which have enriched my knowledge on PMH much more than any textbook and journal article.

My thoughts are with all the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones due to this dreadful illness.

Raja Gangopadhyay

2015

 

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7 Comments on It is time to talk about the ‘perinatal’ aspect of Perinatal Mental Health (PMH): the ‘missing link’ in the national campaign

  1. Katrina Ashton
    2 December 2015 at 12:21 pm (8 years ago)

    I so agree with your comment ‘why wait for business cases’

    money is a barrier but we can jump over it with creative thinking about our own sometimes little sometimes big contributions

    only one request please don’t use the word ‘tokophobia’ its an injustice and over simplification of women s distress

    Katrina Ashton Specialist Midwife Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Heath Medway NHSFT

    • Raja Gangopadhyay
      4 December 2015 at 11:33 am (8 years ago)

      Dear Katrina

      Thank you very much for your comments. I fully agree with your views that we need to look at better ways of communication in PMH and ‘replace’ some wordings traditionally being used: these could be traumatic and disrespectful in themselves.

      Best wishes

      Raja

  2. Kati Edwards
    4 December 2015 at 5:23 am (8 years ago)

    Whilst I wholeheartedly applaud your sentiment and contribution to the mental health in the maternity services, I wonder why there is no mention of the potential contribution of ‘Psychology’ to a maternity MDT? You recommend ‘Psychiatry’ but not ‘Psychology’? As an NHS Assistant Clinical Psychologist working in Physical Health, I see the important contribution we make in this area and am convinced that a specialist presence by this discipline in maternity services would make a big difference. We may take a holistic model. We take everything into account – background, personality, coping styles, family support, point of view. We listen and observe. We may teach skills to help them on their future journey. The introduction of Clinical Psychology with holistic non medical model thinking would, in my opinion, complete maternity MDT’s.

    Happy to talk about this further and hear opinions.

    • Katrina Ashton
      4 December 2015 at 10:31 am (8 years ago)

      I agree very much with Kaiti. I as a specialist midwife and a psycho dynamic psychotherapist believe we must have an all rounded approach to thinking about perinatal mental well being. Increasing womens choice of help is essential.

    • Raja Gangopadhyay
      4 December 2015 at 11:22 am (8 years ago)

      Dear Kati

      Thank you very much for your comments.

      I am grateful to you for pointing out this significant area in my post. I just realised not to have mentioned the Psychology Champions in the blog.

      It was an inadvertent error, and no way an intentional one.

      I would like to emphasise here very clearly that Psychologists must be a part of the MDT: both within the Maternity Services and in the Community. Their contribution is invaluable along with other HCPs in PMH services within Maternity Units: complimentary but distinct from Psychiatry care.

      I fully agree with your views regarding the holistic care our Psychologists provide. I am aware of some excellent models of care on PMH within Maternity Services led by Clinical Psychologists. They have also contributed to the reduction of the Caesarean Section rates and improved patient experience.

      Sadly the professional psychological care is significantly lacking in many of our Maternity Care Pathways. You might have noticed a section (‘Psychological care in pregnancy, delivery and beyond…’) in my blog to highlight this area.

      I would be delighted to discuss this further and work together in this important area.

      Best wishes

      Raja

  3. Dr Saima Sharif
    7 February 2016 at 10:28 pm (8 years ago)

    Hello Mr Raja.

    I am a trainee obstetrician and Gynaecologist with an interest in perinatal mental health within the maternity services.

    Do we not need to highlight to the royal college of o&g that a pathway is required for trainees like myself to become acquainted on how to set up pmh services in our materity services. Also to strat up atsm s modules within the royal college curriculum to train up future obstetricians to provide the best care to women in pregnancy and postnatal period with pmh issues.

    • Katrina Ashton
      8 February 2016 at 11:16 am (8 years ago)

      Dear Saima,

      Very soon every maternity service will have a specialist midwife for maternal mental health. I suggest that becoming acquainted with your own SMMHM would be very helpful for you both as working together in this way brings many rewards for us and the families we work with.