WIREDGOV

A project supporting women experiencing perinatal depression – which can occur from the time of conception to one year after childbirth - has been awarded almost £500,000 funding from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver its vital work across three areas of England. The announcement came as a report yesterday from the NSPCC, calls for action to plug the gaps in mental health services for pregnant and new mothers.

The NSPCC says one in 10 new mothers experience perinatal mental illnesses. Today’s Lottery award will enable the charity Family Action to continue to deliver the Perinatal Support Project Plus in three target areas Hackney, Swaffham in Norfolk, and Mansfield.

The Big Lottery Fund is already responding to this area of need on a wide scale - investing £165 million in improving the life chances of over 10,000 of England’s most vulnerable babies through its ‘A Better Start’ initiative with the aim of improving the physical, emotional and psychological foundations built during a child’s first few years, helping parents give their children the best possible start in life. The Fund will invest between £30 and £50 million in three to five local authority areas over the next ten years.*( see notes to Editors)

Perinatal depression covers a spectrum of illness ranging from depressive symptoms and anxiety to a major depressive illness and even psychosis. Without prompt and correct treatment, it can lead to long term depression. Perinatal depression has an impact beyond the mother – babies are at an increased risk for pre-term and low birth rate, and the condition can also affect a mother’s ability to bond with her infant, and in the long-term, the child’s development.

The Family Action project states that while perinatal services are often available for women with serious mental health difficulties, there is limited support for women with more moderate problems. According to the NSPCC, 64 per cent of PCTs have no perinatal mental health strategy, while 73 per cent of maternity services lack a specialist mental health midwife. Volunteers for Family Action’s Perinatal Support Project Plus will be trained to provide long-term social, emotional and practical support for women, through regular home visits and parenting groups.

The project, which was also supported by the Fund for the past three years through its Reaching Communities programme, will support around 200 pregnant women and new mothers identified by health agencies as being at risk of or having perinatal depression. In an earlier project evaluation, 75 per cent of women reported an improvement in parent/child attachment, and 73 per cent said their levels of depression and anxiety had reduced.

David Holmes, chief executive of Family Action, said: “With around one in six women affected by mental distress during pregnancy there is a real need to fill the gaps in care left by mainstream NHS services, which is what our volunteer perinatal projects do so successfully. These schemes have already led to significant improvements in women’s anxiety and depression, social support and self-esteem, as well as improvement in the warmth of the mother’s relationship with her baby. The Lottery Fund’s generous grant will enable Family Action to help hundreds more women, and their children, at a very difficult time in their lives.”                                                               

Nat Sloane, Big Lottery Fund England Chair, said: “This Perinatal Support Project will undoubtedly lead to immeasurable benefits for families across the country, by placing a strong emphasis on the baby and supporting positive attachments with the parents. The perinatal period is a fundamental time for a baby’s brain development, so this kind of informed support and intervention is vitally important for pregnant women and new mothers to access at the earliest opportunity.”

Julie Smith, 37, from Mansfield, suffered from severe post natal depression following the birth of her son Jake in 2000, although her depression lasted for up to seven years. Although at times she felt suicidal, she feared anyone knowing about her mental illness and worried social services would take her son away. Informed by her own experiences, she now leads the Mansfield perinatal project for Family Action, where she supports mothers through mental health problems.

She said: “Post natal depression took me completely by surprise. With a background of working with children aged 0-11, a happy marriage and a planned pregnancy I assumed everything would be perfect, the way it’s supposed to be. The reality was very different and I quickly sank into an uncontrollable darkness. I wasn’t good enough as a mum; I hadn’t been successful at breastfeeding, I felt sad, I didn’t feel that I could settle my colicky baby and I really felt he would be better off without me. I was crying out for help, I threatened suicide on a number of occasions. Even though things were so bad, I felt unable to tell family and friends, in front of them I wore a mask with a fake smile. I wish my vulnerabilities had been acknowledged and low-level intervention been available before I became so desperate and so ill. My story is why I became so passionate about the work that I do and this along with my work with many families has proven to me the vital importance of the work that our project is doing.”

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.