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Postpartum psychosis (PP) is a severe perinatal mental illness affecting about 1-2 in 1,000 births in the UK each year. APP’s dads & co-parents project, part of our national peer support service, was set up to support & improve the mental health of women who experience PP and their family members.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
For the partners of women who have had PP, the experience can be bewildering, frightening & often lonely, especially in the acute phase when a mother is hospitalised. Partners are left shocked by the sudden onset of a rarely discussed condition, having to manage concern for their loved one’s care, finances & older siblings, looking after a newborn if the mother is being cared for in a general psychiatric ward or separation from their partner and baby if care is received in a Mother & Baby Unit.
Solution
APP runs a dedicated group to provide peer support & information. Dads & co-parents are connected with trained volunteers who have ‘been there’, via 1:1 telephone, video call or email support from a trained partner. We run a monthly group video call for dads & co-parents, a supportive & informal meetup for partners to meet others, share what has helped them & their family through the experience & provide a friendly listening ear.
