News, reports and resources

• CR232 (formerly CR197) Perinatal Mental Health Services: Recommendations for the provision of services for childbearing women

• CR164 Parents as patients: Supporting the needs of patients who are parents and their children (PDF)

The Quality Network for Perinatal Mental Health Services

Motherhood, mother tongue and mental health

This film was produced by the West London Perinatal Mental Health Service in 2023. Listen to women speak in their mother tongue about their experience of perinatal mental illness and accessing help from the perinatal service. 

Northern Ireland: development of new specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services

In January 2021 the Minister for Health Robin Swann approved funding for the development of a new specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services for the region.

Since then, the Public Health Agency (PHA) has been working with the five Health and Social Care Trusts to establish new multidisciplinary community perinatal mental health teams, that will include a new stepped care model to ensure regional consistency. 

Watch the short video update to hear about the progress made to develop a Perinatal Mental Health Service in each Trust area.

View the video update in full (February 2022)

NHS England and NHS Improvement resources

These resources from NHS England and NHS Improvement have been produced with women with experience of perinatal mental health conditions to increase knowledge about perinatal mental illness.

• Best Beginnings
• Maternal OCD (charity)
• Maternal MH Alliance
• World Psychiatric Association: Women's Mental Health
• International Marcé Society
• Break the silence
• Action on Puerperal Psychosis
• APP's patient perspective on Puerperal Psychosis
• The Angela Harrison Charitable Trust
• Delivering high quality, effective, compassionate care: Developing the right people with the right skills and the right values. A mandate from the Government to Health Education England
• NICE Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Health Guideline
• MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance report for births in 2016
• A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland
• Early Intervention - Next Steps (Graham Allen MP)

We produce a variety of pages about maternal mental health that are co-produced with psychiatrists and patients.

Problems & Disorders

• Perinatal OCD for carers
• Postpartum psychosis for carers
• Postpartum psychosis
• Postnatal depression
• Postnatal depression for carers
• Postnatal depression: key facts
• Perinatal OCD

Support, Care & Treatment

• Antipsychotic medication in pregnancy
• What are perinatal mental health services
• Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Children's Social Services and Safeguarding
• What is a Mother and Baby unit?
• Valproate
• Mental Health in pregnancy
• Planning a pregnancy