Planning for giving birth | Right Decisions

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Mental health in pregnancy and after birth (SIGN)
Advice for women, birthing parents and their partners
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Planning for giving birth

Please update your RDS mobile app to version 4.7.1

We are pleased to advise that deep linking capability, enabling users to directly download individual mobile toolkits, has now been released on the RDS mobile app. When you install the update, you will see that each toolkit has a small QR code icon the header area beside the search icon – see screenshot below. Clicking on this icon will open up a window with a full-size QR code and the alternative of a short URL for sharing with users. Instructions are provided.

You may need to actively install the update to install RDS app version 4.7.1 to see this improvement. Installing this update is also strongly recommended to get the full benefits of the new contingency arrangements – specifically, that if the RDS website should fail, you will still be able to download new mobile app toolkits.

To check your current RDS version, click on the three dots bottom right of the RDS app screen. This takes you to a “More” page where you will see the version number. To install latest updates:

On iPhones – go to the Apple store, click on your profile icon top right, scroll down to see the apps waiting to be updated and update the RDS app.

On Android phones – these can vary, but try going to the Google Play store, click on your profile icon top right, click on “Manage apps and device”, select and update the RDS app.

Please get in touch with ann.wales3@nhs.scot with any questions.

If you're pregnant and worried about giving birth, especially if you have had a difficult experience in the past, you can talk about your concerns with a member of your maternity team. They can help you create a birth plan that's right for you.

Questions you might want to ask your healthcare professional

Tommy's suggests you might want to discuss the following questions with your healthcare professional:

How might pregnancy and childbirth affect me?
What is the risk of a previous mental health condition coming back or getting worse?
How might my condition and its treatment affect me and my pregnancy and afterwards?
How might my condition and its treatment affect parenting?
Are there any risks of not treating my condition?
If my condition isn’t treated with medication, how will my symptoms be controlled?
What mental health services are available for me in my area when I am pregnant?
What kind of support is available after my baby is born?

Record your feelings and questions

You can use this online form to record issues and questions you want to discuss with your midwife, health visitor, family nurse or other healthcare professional. Once completed, you can save it or print it out. Click on the icon below to access the form.