Beyond the Smile

‘Beyond the smile: working together for positive maternal mental health’ PMHCWN / CSIP / Mind / Marce Society study day. It was a fantastic opportunity for all those involved in maternity services, health and social care to learn from many excellent speakers! www.pmhcwn.org.uk/events/files/studyday5/perinataldetails.pdf

This was a great event with more than 100 people who attended and there was a waiting list!
I had a lovely evening before the event with Breda Seaman who has set up support groups for mums in NHS Forth Valley Acute Services and Rose dr Paeztron and Carolyn Martin from the Newpin programme in Southwark, London.

It was good to see some familiar faces in the room - Carol Henshaw, Caroline Carr, Jan Cubison, for example. Also Wendy and Alison from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust. I had a meeting with them a few weeks ago when they were telling me of their specialist Primrose Suite for mothers and babies.

The whole theme of the day was aimed at getting different groups to work together in helping to ease the suffering of the whole family and not just the mother.

There was some superb artwork on display done by poorly mums - stunning! I feel that the creative aspect of 'recovery' is often overlooked yet it can be very helpful. I remember teaching a fellow patient to knit dolls clothes for her daughter when I was an in-patient.

It was good to see a group of young Dads there too.

Were you there? Would you like to post any of your details to tell others of your good practice or anything you want help with?

Let's keep on working together! For a review of the day look at

http://www.pmhcwn.org.uk/documents/perinatalwriteup.pdf.

Thanks to all the team involved for a productive day!

www.elainehanzak.co.uk