What mental health services are available if I need support?

A perinatal mental health service is for any woman, with mental health problems, who is planning a pregnancy, pregnant or who has a baby up to one year old. These services aim to:

• Help you stay as well as possible during pregnancy and after your baby is born.
• Make sure that you, your family and other professionals can recognise if you become unwell - as soon as possible.
• Give the best possible care, treatment, help and support to you and your family.
• Help you to enjoy having your baby, and to develop confidence in being a mum.
• Make sure that you, your partner and family have the information you need - and can get advice - about mental health problems and treatments.
• Work together with you, your partner and family and the professionals involved.

•  GP
• Midwife
• Obstetrician
• Health Visitor
• Psychiatrist
• Care co-ordinator (community mental health team).

This video from the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland provides more information about community perinatal mental health teams.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists provides more information about Perinatal Mental Health Services.

Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Interventions (MNPI) teams provide help if you have mental health problems related to the pregnancy or to giving birth, which can be treated with talking therapies. Treatments might include anxiety management, cognitive behaviour therapy and a range of other types of talking treatments. MNPI teams also help parents if their baby has additional problems and needs to spend time in hospital after birth.

This video from the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland explains more about MNPI teams.

If you have a more severe mental health problem, you might need to come into hospital. This should usually be a specialist psychiatric Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) where you, and your baby, can be admitted together. 

MBUs admit women in late pregnancy and up to one year after birth. An MBU can help you to care for your baby and gain confidence as a mum, while having treatment you need yourself. Your perinatal mental health service will have links with the nearest MBU, so your perinatal psychiatrist or nurse can arrange admission if you need it. They will keep in touch while you are in hospital and help with plans for your discharge. After you leave hospital, they will carry on seeing you.

This video from the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland provides more information about Mother and Baby Units.

• A specialist mental health midwife – offers support for milder symptoms of anxiety or low mood, particularly when these are related to pregnancy or anxiety about birth.  They also act as the link between perinatal mental health and maternity services.

• Talking therapies. These can include guided self-help sessions with a therapist, cognitive behaviour therapy, couples’ therapy, counselling, individual or group therapies. If you are pregnant, or have recently had a baby, you would usually be given priority. You can often bring your baby to appointments. 

• GP – can diagnose a mental health problem, prescribe medication if you need it and  refer you to other services.

• Health visitor - provides advice and support about caring for your new baby.  They can offer listening visits if you have Postnatal Depression.

• Children’s centres - offer advice, practical and social support.  They run mother and baby groups and drop-in sessions. You can meet other new parents and develop your confidence as a mum.

• Online resources – there are lots of websites which provide information and support for women with mental health problems during pregnancy and beyond.  Some of these are listed at the  "Access information and support" section of this app.

Your GP, midwife and health visitor will know what support is available in your local area and can help you access this.

The Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland provides information, videos and links about mental health services for women during pregnancy and after birth. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists provides an online and print leaflet about mental health services for women during pregnancy and after birth.