1. National Federation of Women’s Institutes Resolution Shortlist November 2016 Equal access for all who need specialised maternal mental health services Place image here ‘There is presently an acute shortage of quality specialised maternal mental health services, meaning that many vulnerable women, their babies, and families face a postcode lottery of perinatal mental health support. The NFWI calls on NHS commissioners to prioritise the development of specialised perinatal mental health support services so that pregnant and postnatal women, their babies and families are able to access the support they need.’

2. Outline of presentation What is perinatal mental illness? Overall impact Action by Government and the NHS How the WI could work on this resolution Arguments for, arguments against MonkeyBusinessImages/Shutterstock.com

3. What is perinatal mental illness and how common is it? © Centre for Mental Health

4. Perinatal mental illness Depression and anxiety Obsessive compulsive disorder Post-partum psychosis Post-traumatic stress disorder Adjustment disorders Eating disorders Phobias Bonding disorders Not just ‘the baby blues’ TolikoffPhotography/Shutterstock..com

5. Maternal deaths © MBRRACE-UK

6. Economic costs ©Everyone’sBusiness

7. Percentage with NO specialist perinatal mental health community services England: 38% Wales: 70% London = specialist provision that meets quality standards = no specialist services =area with some specialist services ©Everyone’sBusiness

8. National shortfall of inpatient Mother & Baby unit beds UK shortfall: 60 beds Wales: No unit Northern Ireland: No unit England East Anglia, S. West, N. West: No unit ©Everyone’sBusiness

9. Recent developments Mental Health Five Year Forward View recommends to NHS England in February 2016 that 30,000 more women every year have access to specialist services by 2020/2021 Welsh Government announced in 2015 that £15 million would be annually spent over the next five years for specialist perinatal mental health support services Freer/Shutterstock.com

10. How could the WI work on this resolution if it were passed? Nationally: NFWI would pressure CCGs and health boards to develop regional perinatal mental health strategies Regionally: Federations would hold CCGs and health boards to account Locally: WIs raise awareness and destigmatise issue

11. Arguments for the resolution The NHS in England and Wales has recently made commitments to improve access to support services, but campaigners argue that they don’t go far enough. Now is the time for the NFWI to throw our weight behind this issue and drive forward implementation. This resolution complements our existing More Midwives campaign nicely and would allow us to leverage our existing influence and reputation as an authoritative voice on maternity services more effectively.

12. Arguments against the resolution The NFWI has just undergone a big programme of work regarding maternity services; is another mandated on a related topic necessary? Is there organisational appetite for another maternity campaign? The Mental Health Five Year Forward View has recently endorsed the principle of this resolution and has allocated funds accordingly. Although campaigners say the funding is not enough, in this current financial climate it may be the most robust deal possible.

13. Further information NFWI Public Affairs Department E: pa@nfwi.org.uk T: 020 7371 9300 https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns Everyone’s Business E: maria@app-network.org T: 020 8802 7255maria@app-network.org http://everyonesbusiness.org.uk/ Maternal Mental Health Alliance (This website links to a host of other organisations who may be able to provide speakers or answer queries) http://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/