What's in a name? A new mum's identity!

Today I spoke in a lovely lecture theatre at St. Richard's Hospital in Chichester to a group of staff, including community midwives and students. Thank you for having me again! This trip I managed a mooch around the town - very nice!

I also received this message from a delegate at a recent event which I wanted to share (and have the sender's permission to do so)as I feel there are lessons for us all.

Dear Elaine, I listened to your speech recently identifying with everything you spoke about. I had PND with my first child and had my breakdown day too. I was lucky as I had moved house the month before and my new g.p whom I broke down in front of diagnosed PND immediately - by that time I had lost 9 months of my daughters life. I knew I had not been right and even at 6 weeks postnatally was trying to express these feelings to my health visitor and female g.p all who told me of course I was tired I was a new mum, then I would feel much better once I had returned to work!
I do believe that many first time mums do not realise that having a baby
is a life time commitment and life changing event and that you will never be the same again. You are a mum first and foremost and in the early days the old you ceases to have time to exist.
Identity of mum and dad is irrevocably changed.I was no longer just Barbara I was ' MuM' When I speak to new mothers I always address them by their name! They need to know they do still exist!
Feelings I was unprepared for were those that no matter what you do or don't do you will always worry and feel guilty! That's the role of a mother is it not?
I was told reassurance was that a smiling happy child is proof enough that you are doing okay! However if someone had told me that what I was feeling was okay and quite normal I would have been able to accept this. I know now that's its okay to worry and normal to feel guilty at times.
Everlasting needs of our children continue 24 hours a day, women are sometimes not prepared for this and the overwhelming burden of responsibility I had when I became a mum threw me.I thought I knew what being a mum would entail but I did not have a clue, the mixture of a love I would have killed for and all these other feelings scared me I did not know how to deal with them and no one reassured me that they were normal, to accept them, that I did not have to fix anything, nothing was broken!
I was a special care baby nurse of many years before becoming a mother and everyone assumed I knew what I was doing!
I am becoming a midwife so I can reassure women that even when things don't go to their expected plan to reassure them that providing they are well and baby is well they are okay and to try to ensure they are given the support and opportunity to be able to enjoy the baby they have so looked forward to having.
I was lucky although my partner was terrified of having to go through me having PND again we had another child and we got the support systems in place to ensure I did not get sleep deprived and had 'me time' every week. I now have two fabulous girls - yes it's hard work, yes I get tired, yes I feel gaily and I worry but that's my role and its normal. If I didn't feel this way I would be very worried. I know at least 3 other friends who have suffered with PND but all are ashamed of having it, 2 of which have not felt brave enough to go onto have another child.
In training we are taught to emphasize the normal, when are we going to acknowledge that PND is common and women who get it are normal in every other way?!!

Thank you for sharing that! I think there are lessons in there for us all.

Elaine

www.hanzak.com

Social work and postnatal depression

Today I have been busy adding email addresses given to me at events for subscrition to my newsletter - coming soon!

I came across a lovely testimonial from Chris, a social worker with a Family Support Team who recently heard me speak. I publish it in response to a few enquiries asking if what I have to say is relevant to social workers .... judge for yourself.

Elaine is an excellent speaker and her personal story is inspirational. I have been on a real journey today and I'm sure that everything I have learned will stay with me forever, and help me and also the people I come into contact with as a social worker. I think everyone would benefit from this course. I hope you continue to share your story and experiences as there are many people out there who need to hear it.

Thank you for sharing that Chris!

Elaine

www.hanzak.com

Mental Health Nurse?

I have come across a resource which may be of use to you if you are a mental health nurse or a student.

Have a look at http://www.mentalhealthnurse.co.uk/

Steve, who runs the site, is a perinatal mental health nurse and there are plans to put more information on the site for this specialist area.

What do you think? What do you need? Can you contribute?

So many professionals are trying to reinvent the wheel out there so the more we can network and share good practice the easier and more effective we can make the care pathways for sufferers out there!

Elaine

www.hanzak.com

'Just Go' and get the Feelgood factor!

Those of you who have listened to my talks or have known me for years will be aware that I am a huge Lionel Richie fan.

Also you will know that I advocate things that you make you feel good, whether you are mentally ill or not!

I simply have to pass on my latest INSTANT feel good factor ...
Lionel's new track 'Just Go'.

Have a listen at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AI62a2IN8cc

It works for me!! My partner says Lionel has been listening to his ideas! That's the canny trick Lionel has - makes it feel that it was especially for you.

Can't wait for his concerts again in the Spring.

Listen and enjoy!

Elaine



www.hanzak.com

Postnatal Illness - making a positive difference in Doncaster

I had the pleasure today of addressing an audience of health professionals and others at an event held at The Dome in Doncaster.
http://www.the-dome.co.uk/.

The day had been organised by Ilona Vindule who is the Commissioning Manager (Mental Health and Substance Misuse)NHS. She heard me speak at an event last year for Healthcare Events. www.healthcare-events.co.uk

Ilona asked me to inspire and motivate but also to give some examples of good practice of clinical pathways for maternal mental health.

I was most impressed by the stakeholders who attended and the enthusiasm to improve services was very obvious. Ilona is going to compile a report of the recommendations made during the day and I hope this sees the start of positive improvements for the wellbeing of the mothers and families in the Doncaster area.

The examples I suggested were:-

The East Midlands have an effective managed clinical pathway. This is useful as a model for commissioners to look at.
www.pmmrc.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagescm/7489/$File/perinatal-psychiatric-services.pdf

I have heard that Glasgow have a good scheme under Dr Roch Cantwell.

Also Kirklees www.kirklees-pct.nhs.uk/uploads/tx_galileodocuments/Maternal_Mental_Health_Policy.pdf

The Western Area have an impressive scheme and documents.
http://www.whssb.n-i.nhs.uk/publication/WHSSB_Maternal_Mental_Health_Guidelines.pdf.


In my home area of the North West of UK we have had a Regional Infant and Maternal mental Health Network. Although we still have a way to go the wheels are in motion to improve services.
www.northwest.csip.org.uk/silo/files/immheventreport.doc

I also am a huge fan of the Tamworth PND support group who have an excellent model of a rolling eight week programme.
http://www.tamworthpostnatalsupportgroup.com/

If you need to keep up to date with perinatal mental health matters I recommend that you join the mailing list at www.jan-net.com

If anyone has any other areas which are worthy of shouting about please tell me and I can put you on my newsletter - to follow very soon!

Well done Ilona for a very good event.

Her comment on me was:-

‘I found Elaine’s talk very informative and a good source for finding out about examples of good practices in the development of maternal mental health services. For us, commissioners and health professionals, service user should be in the center of every service we develop and deliver. Elaine can be seen as a partner as she possesses wealth of information gained not only through her personal experience, but also through her activities at national and international arenas, - we have to appreciate it.’ Ilona Vindule, Commissioning Manager, NHS Doncaster

Thank you,

Elaine


www.hanzak.com

Patient Information Forum

Today I met up with Mark Duman who is the Honorary President of the Patient Information Forum (PiF).
PiF is an independent organisation that promotes high-quality information for patients, carers, and their families. We support those involved in the production and dissemination of high-quality consumer health information by:

Influencing national and local policy
Spreading and sharing good practice
Training health information professionals
Communicating news and research

I am a strong believer in good information for patients and their families as where it is provided it can help ease a great deal of stress. It can also empower them by helping them to understand and take some control over their care and treatment which is good for all concerned.

I hope by joining this group I will also help in these important aims.

Have a look at their website. http://www.pifonline.org.uk/

Mark is also involved in the Improvement Foundation.

The Improvement Foundation leads the field in service improvement work across the public sector in the UK and overseas. Their website states that:-


We work in partnership with frontline staff and service users to deliver large-scale improvements in health, education and service outcomes, and provide leadership and quality improvement skills training.


We work closely with the Department of Health, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and several other public sector bodies and other organisations. Experts in quality improvement, we have an eight-year track record of demonstrating significant, sustainable impact and value for money.

For more information see

http://www.improvementfoundation.org/

I was most impressed to also meet Mark's colleague Teresa Karran who told me about a wonderful project on cancer prevention work.

I hope I can be involved and helpful in their work.

If you are involved in Mental Health are there any aspects of information that you feel could be improved? Please let me know.

Elaine


www.hanzak.com

A generation of new mums in crisis!

Today an article in the Daily Mail stressed that half of new mothers are in crisis and suffering from postnatal depression.

The article reads: -

A generation of new mothers is in crisis, the Tories have warned.

More than half are said to show signs of post-natal depression as they are increasingly left to fend for themselves after giving birth.

Maria Miller, Conservative families spokesman, warned women were floundering because they did not have the traditional family support and advice their own mothers could rely on.

What is more, the Government has failed to keep up with the dramatic changes to motherhood over the last 20 years, she said.

Up to 52 per cent of women reported signs of depression and 60 per cent felt they had not seen their health visitor enough during their child's first year, found a poll by website Netmums.com.

Mrs Miller, a businesswoman with three young children, admitted that she too initially struggled with motherhood.

'Like many women today, I had spent almost a decade working before becoming a mum for the first time. Yet the practical reality of a new baby left me struggling to get out of my pyjamas before lunchtime.'

A child's arrival can have a much greater impact on modern women than it did on their mothers and grandmothers, she added.

Childbirth is often delayed until women are in their mid-thirties, with established careers. So many go from a position of authority in the workplace to being at home all day with little daily support.

Mrs Miller, tipped for promotion in a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet, said a Tory government planned to introduce a universal health-visitor service to offer extra support.

It would employ an extra 2,700 health visitors to provide a minimum guarantee of six hours of support for all families in the first two weeks of a child's life, as well as prenatal visits.

An hour-long visit would be made every two weeks for the next six months, followed by monthly contact until the child was a year old, with a minimum of two visits a year until the age of five.

The Tories have also pledged tax breaks for married couples with children and extensions to flexible working and parental leave.

Mrs Miller added: ' Improvements to parental leave and the more plentiful availability of childcare are welcome, but do not go far enough to address the true pressures that many modern families face when a new baby arrives.

'When my mother's generation started their families they had a ready-made support system in place - parents and even grandparents in neighbouring streets; and an army of health visitors to plug the gaps. Today, health visitors are a rare commodity and we may have few links with other people living in our neighbourhood.'

The survey, commissioned by the Tories, found that almost half of mothers had only seen their health visitor once or twice in the first two months after birth.

Some 49 per cent were not contacted at all by a health visitor after their child passed two months.

Sally Russell, of Netmums, said: 'There is growing evidence to support the fact that development in the first years of life can significantly impact on a child's life chances. We are constantly stunned by the accounts we receive from our members of the poor standards of care.

'With under-investment, a retiring population of health visitors and a breakdown of traditional support systems, the current system means many new mums have to simply fend for themselves.

'Health visitors have been at the heart of family healthcare since Victorian times. Some new mothers probably would have received better support from family and the state 100 years ago.'

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has previously promised more health visitors. In 2007, he said: 'We will need more specialist nurses and health visitors to tackle public-health issues in deprived communities.'

See it here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1120285/Half-new-mothers-suffer-post-natal-depression-lack-families.html

Yet again the call is for more and better trained health visitors. I feel strongly that Mums need support and if this cannot be done by immediate family I urge struggling Mums to try to find those in a similar situation to help one another. I also think there is a need in communities for an 'adoptive granny' scheme. For example, a list of local ladies who are available to run errands, go to the shops, etc and just help out. Perhaps church communities and groups such as WI and the Soropotimists could help with this? I am such that there is a whole army out there who would LOVE to help!

Elaine


www.hanzak.com