Why do we have a Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week?
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 takes place between 3-9th May, a week-long campaign created to highlight the importance of mental health.
From perinatal, prenatal and postnatal depression, to anxiety, OCD and postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health struggles are more common than we think. You can read more about this and the different types in our previous post on why maternal mental health is so important.
If you’ve experienced mental health problems such as depression and anxiety in the past, you’ll know all too well how this can creep up on you, and before you know it, you’re suffering. If you’re already feeling isolated, it can be really difficult to ask for help. Knowing that the people who founded MMHAW are ‘Experts by Experience’ provides the unity we need.
Anyone who has been affected by mental health struggles either before, during, or after pregnancy, will find that this campaign is definitely one to check out and get involved with.
The history of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week was created in 2014 by 11 individuals who, having all experienced maternal mental illness, pledged their mission to create a much-needed campaign to raise awareness of the problems that new and expectant mothers might face.
Together, they formed the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership (PMHP) and launched the first-ever Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week campaign in 2017. (Perfectly timed to coincide with the week during which World Maternal Mental Health Day falls).
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge supported the 2020 campaign.
The campaign is dedicated to talking about mental illness during pregnancy or after having your baby.
The Partnership is committed to helping women affected by perinatal mental illness to find support and access the information they need.
The PMHP has recently welcomed The Motherhood Group and Prosperitys as new members.
Why we need to raise awareness for maternal mental health
Basically, it’s much more common than we think. Women are suffering in silence, whether that be from shame, fear, or are simply unable to speak out. We expect all the happy feels then get confused and feel guilty because, in reality, we feel the opposite. When you’re plagued by feelings of sadness, guilt, or irritability, it’s a scary thought to reach out and ask for support.
And to make matters worse, mums-to-be and new mums the world over have had to face these feelings amidst a pandemic and isolation during lockdown in the past 12 months.
That’s why, this year, Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 is focusing on everyone’s #journeystorecovery.
Journeys to Recovery
With access to help with mental health having been so difficult in this last year, mums and families have requested that the campaign focuses on different ideas to help each person with their own recovery journey. Examples range from medication to craft to mindfulness, as well as all the different resources and safe support they can access.
On launch day, participants will be invited to share a photo of something which has helped (or will help) their recovery, such as a photo of a painting, craft piece, journal notes or running shoes, with the hashtag #myjourneytorecovery. These can also be shared throughout the week.
The week-long campaign has a different theme with a hashtag for each day, as set out below:
• Monday 3rd May: What is Maternal Mental Health? #pmhpwhatismaternalmh
• Tuesday 4th May: Reaching out for support #pmhpreachingoutforsupport
• Wednesday 5th May: Global Perinatal positivity pot #pmhpglobalppp
• Thursday 6th May: Looking after you and yours #pmhplookingafteryouandyours
• Friday 7th May: Your Journeys to Recovery #pmhpyourjourneystorecovery
• Saturday 8th May: Paternal Mental Health #pmhppaternalmh
There will also be a self-care tracker available, where you can fill in things you did to feel calm, happy or peaceful, record your favourite self-care activities as a helpful reminder, and a place to list 4 things you want to achieve in the next week.
Mental Health advocate Rosey (@PNDandMe) and co-founder of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week stresses the importance of looking after mental health for new mothers and during pregnancy in her #PNDHour Tweet chats every Wednesday 8pm-9pm, with the campaign special on Wednesday 5th May. For more information on this, visit http://pndandme.co.uk/what-is-pndhour/.
Paternal mental health
Prenatal and postpartum mental health issues can affect men, too. As highlighted by PMHP member Dr. Andy Mayers on his dedicated Fathers’ Mental Health page, dads are frequently overlooked. In the article What You Need to Know About Postnatal Depression in Men (Huffington Post, 2018), Andy quotes that several changes can be a contributor: “It’s about a change in relationship, change in finances and a change in responsibility.”
Plus, there’s the added pressure to “man up”, reducing the opportunity or desire to express how they’re feeling and how they’re affected by it all. The MMHAW campaign is scheduled to cover the topic of Paternal Mental Health on Saturday 8th May, led by Dr. Andy Mayers himself, with the hashtag #pmhpaternalmh, so dads can get involved, too.
Get involved for your Journey to Recovery
From 3rd – 9th May inclusive, the Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week campaign will be hosting a number of online activities to cover a huge range of topics from how to approach your GP if you have any maternal mental illness symptoms, to focus sessions for Black Maternal Mental Health.
There will be Facebook live sessions on Maternal Mental Health in the Muslim community, and Instagram live sessions for LGBTQ parents. Also scheduled are discussions on how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can help with the symptoms of maternal mental illness, and a session on Creative Writing.
The above points for this campaign are just a small selection of what’s on offer. For further details and full information, please visit https://perinatalmhpartnership.com/.
Furthermore, the Parent List app is designed to help you manage the mental load and contains quick-reference information on finding calm amidst the chaos. You’ll discover bite-sized content to help you regain the headspace you need.
You can sign up to the app for free here.
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