Maternal mental health

In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough there is a maternal mental health support service. They are a team of mental health specialists helping women with serious and complex mental health conditions during pregnancy and up to a year after birth. 

Mental illness during before and after birth can develop quickly and become serious in ways that can make pregnancy and caring for a baby difficult. We work closely with mums, their families and other professionals to try to pick up symptoms early.

If you are in a mental health crisis call 111 and select the mental health option. Specially trained staff are available all day and all night. You can call for yourself or on behalf of someone else.

There's lots of help available for mental health including: 

• The Perinatal Mental Health Support Service is provided by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
• Help is also available from MIND CPSL on their supporting new mums page.
• H.A.Y. Peterborough! How Are You?: Bringing together everything in Peterborough that promotes positive mental health. From a friendly ‘how are you’, to activity groups and much more – it’s all taking care of our mental well-being. 
• Perinatal Positivity uses the real voices and experiences of women and men who have had mental wellbeing difficulties around the time of pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. We hope it will help you emotionally prepare and find support, if needed, at this time. 
• During these challenging times stress levels in households may be increased, particularly for those with small babies and where support from family and friends is not easily accessible. The ICON Programme is a preventative programme.
• Every Mind Matters is there to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.

Support Available During Your Pregnancy

When you are pregnant, you will see different healthcare professionals. Knowing who these people are may help you feel more comfortable during your
care. The Support Available During Your Pregnancy leaflet will explain who you may meet during your pregnancy. Available in: English, Polish, Hindi, Urdu, Romanian and Portuguese.