IMPRovE Improving Mental Health Perinatally through Research and Education #BHPhitconf

The challenge To develop a pathway to provide consistent recognition and management of mental health problems during or after pregnancy. Antenatal and postnatal mental health problems can have a long term impact on the infant and child’s own mental health and wider development lasting into adulthood.

#BHPhitconf The numbers (Bristol) Around 30 women who become pregnant each year will have pre-existing psychotic illness (including more severe forms of bipolar disorder) Around 200 women will experience severe depressive illness 650 will experience mild-moderate anxiety and depression Nearly 1000 will experience other forms of distress such as adjustment disorders.

#BHPhitconf Workstreams – Universal Prevention Antenatal care Teaching and training Patient and Public Involvement Specialist community team

#BHPhitconf Achievements Pilot project in Children’s Centres linking with midwives to provide additional support to women during pregnancy Establishment of new training course at UWE for midwives and mental health nurses PPI input into training including presentation for GPs Support for business case for specialist community service Animated films produced by Bluebell with funding from Wellcome Trust Funding to study consequences of prenatal stress exposure through international cohort collaboration, Montreal, Bristol, Rotterdam and Singapore

#BHPhitconf Challenges Difficulty in influencing commissioning decisions and priorities where there are major service gaps

#BHPhitconf Funding applications Understanding the link between PMH and parenting to develop interventions which can prevent problems developing With the Fatherhood Institute – interventions to support fathers Trial of interpersonal counselling for perinatal depression Risks and benefits of anti-depressant use in pregnancy – with Dr Dheeraj Rai

#BHPhitconf Focus for Universal workstream – developing joint work between early years and health Teaching and training – maintaining the input of people with lived experience into training and study days Research bids PPI to be embedded in all work Business case now business as usual – HIT to support evaluation