Mental Health Nursing meets the lead consultant obstetrician in perinatal mental health at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and founder of the International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy charity

@RajaGangopadhy3

What is the biggest challenge you are facing at the moment?

Perinatal mental health (PMH) illnesses are very common during pregnancy and within one year of childbirth, affecting up to 1 in 5 women. This is one of the leading causes of maternal death all across the UK and globally.

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has added additional stress and challenges for mothers and their families, making them even more vulnerable and susceptible to develop PMH conditions.

This is especially true for those with a preexisting mental health illness.

It has undoubtedly been an emotionally challenging journey for me to see the devastating psychological impact of covid and hear the real-life experiences of the mothers in my clinics.

Many of them lost their livelihoods, with serious worries about their finances to meet the increasing expenditure after the childbirth. Due to the lockdown, school closure and other social distancing measures, mothers have often felt isolated and could not attend in-person antenatal classes or mother and baby groups to meet others to socialise and get peer support.

There have been restrictions on the partners visiting the wards, antenatal clinics and scan appointments. I have seen mothers breaking down in tears when they felt like having their partners by their sides at the time of making important decisions about their care and birth. Thankfully things are improving with the ease of lockdown measures.