The perinatal period spans from the beginning of pregnancy through childbirth and the first year after the baby is born. This chapter explores perinatal mental health, outlining the support services available in Havering and the existing gaps and challenges in perinatal mental health care.
Chapter outline
- Introduction to perinatal mental health
- National and local context
- Service provision in Havering
- Barking Havering Redbridge University Trust (BHRUT) NHS Maternity Survey Findings: Feedback from pregnant people and new mothers
- Good practice in other local authorities
- Havering perinatal mental health stakeholder insights
Key Findings
- Havering has a higher rate of access to specialist perinatal mental health services than London and England.
- The number of Havering resident referrals to Perinatal Parent Infant Mental Health Service (PPIMHS), the service for moderate-to-severe perinatal mental health issues, increased by 22.6% between 2019/20 and 2023/24.
- The 12-month service cut-off for perinatal mental health (PMH) services prevents parents receiving support when mental health needs emerge or persist beyond infancy.
- Parents may be discharged due to missed appointments, childcare barriers and digital exclusion.
- Service fragmentation across GPs, health visitors, children’s centres and mental health services lead to duplication, delays or missed support and there is an absence of a centralised, up-to-date service directory.
- Birth trauma is a significant risk factor for development of PMH conditions. There is a need to develop a culture of trauma-informed care within maternity services.
- Access to neurodevelopmental assessments, such as for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or autism, is also extremely limited, delaying appropriate diagnosis and treatment which can worsen PMH.
- Formal perinatal pathways are not all commissioned for non-birthing partners, despite them being at risk of mental health issues.
- Stakeholders highlighted that outreach and engagement are lower in areas of higher deprivation within the borough, which can limit awareness of and access to support.