HEALTHWATCH Shropshire (HWS) is calling for more mental health support to be offered to new parents.

The independent health and social care champion has called on local services to make more space for new parents in the region to talk about their mental health.

In a national report, entitled Mental Health and the Journey to Parenthood, it was found that women with mental health problems were not experiencing the consistent support expected by services following NHS guidelines.

The findings reflect what local women told HWS when it investigated the issue last January producing the Maternity and Mental Health Engagement Report Shropshire.

The Healthwatch England (HWE) report focuses on a survey of 1,738 women and draws on the research undertaken by HWS.

These women reported either having a mental health condition diagnosed by a doctor before, during or after having a baby or they said they had experienced a mental health problem which had not been diagnosed.

With the NHS committed to providing maternal mental health support for more than 30,000 extra women by 2020/21, the work undertaken by Healthwatch can help local services understand what is working for new mothers and what is not.

Some mothers did report good experiences of care, with one mum saying that she had quick access to support.

"I was near the end of the pregnancy when I had a panic and a wobble so I saw the midwife and had a second consultant appointment,” the mum explained. “This happened within one week,"

However, with one in four women experiencing mental health problems in pregnancy and within two years of giving birth, analysis of the stories shared also highlights the need to provide more opportunities for new parents and health professionals to talk about mental health during the journey to parenthood.

Common themes highlighted include the range of issues that can help contribute to mental health problems such as severe pregnancy sickness, the physical health of babies, a history of mental health problems, feelings of isolation and a lack of empathy from professionals.

Many women felt scared about speaking up about their mental health because of fear that they would be judged as bad parents.

Another mum who shared her experience said: "Both myself and my husband felt that we needed support following the birth of our child and spoke to our health visitor about this who advised we made a GP appointment.

"Three months following this we are still trying to get an appointment, even when I mentioned this to my GP at my six weeks appointment - no support!"

In the report, a third of women who had a diagnosed mental health condition said they were not given any advice about maternity and mental health at any point.

Nearly half described getting support for their mental health as difficult or very difficult.

Just over half of the women said they did not get a care plan that considered their maternity and mental health needs, while 36 per cent reported not feeling involved in decisions about their care.

And lastly, a third of all women rated the quality of mental health support given by health professionals as poor or very poor.

Commenting on the findings, Lynn Cawley, chief officer of HWS, said: "Women and their partners experiencing maternity mental health issues for the first time appear to have considerable difficulty accessing help and support.

"A system-wide understanding of the referral criteria for each part of the service is needed eg Perinatal Mental Health Team and Psychological Therapies.

"This will save professionals time and reduce distress for parents.

"The mothers’ and partners’ long-standing relationships with Primary Care, where they exist, could be vital in helping some of them to engage with the mental health support on offer."