Struggling when pregnant or with a new baby - resources
Perinatal Support
COVID-19 and the perinatal period
Advice and support when pregnant during COVID-19:
· Royal College of Midwives (https://www.rcm.org.uk/advice-for-pregnant-women/)
· Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/)
Guidance for parents and their newborns during COVID-19:
· National Childcare Trust (NCT) (https://www.nct.org.uk/baby-toddler/coronavirus-and-your-baby)
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) is a charity and coalition of over 100 organisations working together with experts by experience and clinicians to achieve our shared vision and improve the lives of women and families in the UK affected by perinatal mental illness (https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/)
During pregnancy and beyond
· First port of call is their midwife (https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/departments/maternity/)
· Family Assist is an innovative new way of ensuring that parents and their friends and families have access to a wide range of information and resources, both local and national, at their fingertips (https://solent-family-assist.custhelp.com/)
· The Healthier Together programme relies upon patients and healthcare professionals working together to improve how local healthcare is delivered. The website provides advice for parents, young people and pregnant women, and clinical resources to support healthcare professionals – which means that your child is likely to receive consistently high-quality care, irrespective of which healthcare professional they see. (https://what0-18.nhs.uk/)
· Informed birth, pregnancy and beyond – a grassroots, not for profit community group based in South East Hampshire. We are committed to supporting families to create community and find the information they need when pregnant, birthing and finding their way as a new family. (https://www.informedpregnancybirthandbeyond.org/)
· National Childcare Trust (NCT) – supporting parents through the first 1,000 days, to have the best possible experience of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood (https://www.nct.org.uk/)
· The Daisy Foundation - classes, workshops and group sessions that meet the needs of expectant mums and new parents from early pregnancy through to toddlerhood (https://thedaisyfoundation.com/about/)
· Bounty – advice on getting pregnant, during pregnancy and post-birth (https://www.bounty.com/)
· Emma’s Diary – advice on getting pregnant, during pregnancy and post-birth (https://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/)
· Understanding the impact of epigenetics and how to manage stress during pregnancy (https://www.beginbeforebirth.org/)
· Eating Disorders and Pregnancy – pregnancy can be a difficult time for some women with eating disorders as they experience changes to their weight and shape, and eating disorders can increase the risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Women with eating disorders need tailored advice and support that addresses their specific needs during pregnancy and motherhood. (http://www.eatingdisordersandpregnancy.co.uk/)
· Eating Disorders in the perinatal period (https://wednesdayschild.co.uk/)
· Autistic and pregnant (https://www.birthbabyparent.com/autisticandpregnantresources)
· Medication in pregnancy (https://www.choiceandmedication.org/oxfordhealth/printable-leaflets/drugs-in-pregnancy/)
· For Baby’s Sake – Starting in pregnancy, For Baby’s Sake is for both parents. We work with you individually to break cycles of domestic abuse and give your baby the best start in life. (https://www.forbabyssake.org.uk/for-parents/)
· Positive birth stories:
o https://thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/blog
o https://thedaisyfoundation.com/category/birth-stories/
Medication
· BUMPS – best use of medicines in pregnancy (https://medicinesinpregnancy.org/)
· Wendy’s Support on Breastfeeding and Medication (https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/)
· Drugs in pregnancy (https://www.choiceandmedication.org/oxfordhealth/printable-leaflets/drugs-in-pregnancy/)
· BAP Guidelines on the use of psychotropic medication preconception, in pregnancy and postpartum (https://www.bap.org.uk/pdfs/BAP_Guidelines-Perinatal.pdf)
Post-birth
· Health Visitors are the number one go-to for new parents (https://www.solent.nhs.uk/our-services/services-listings/health-visiting-portsmouth/). This is a universal service – every newborn is allocated a health visitor.
· Institute of Health Visiting Top Tips for Parents (https://ihv.org.uk/families/top-tips/)
· Mum and baby groups change all the time; health visitors and Family Hubs usually keep an updated list of groups running in the local area (https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/health-and-care/children-and-families/family-hubs) – NB the ‘Sure Start Centres’ used to be widespread, these were then substantially cut and those that remained morphed into ‘Children’s Centres’, and have now been rebranded ‘Family Hubs’
· Hampshire Lanterns – we are a group of mum’s who have experienced mental health problems during pregnancy or after childbirth. We aim to support each other via the internet and group meetings so no mum ever has to feel alone. (https://hampshirelanterns.com/)
· Home Start offers support to families who are struggling (http://www.hsportsmouth.org.uk/)
· Family Lives provides support on all aspects of family life that include all stages of a child’s development, issues with schools and parenting/relationship support. They also respond when life becomes more complicated and provide support around family breakdown, aggression in the home, bullying at school, teenage risky behaviour and mental health concerns of both parents and their children (https://www.familylives.org.uk/)
· The Parenting Network in Portsmouth – provides a much loved and much needed service for local families; working to build a supportive community of families and drive forward social change through education on positive parenting and best practice (https://theparentingnetwork.co.uk/)
· Maternal Emotional Wellbeing Matters Portsmouth has resources and links for all things maternal mental health (http://maternalmentalhealth.org/)
· Association for Post-Natal Illness (APNI) (https://apni.org/)
· PANDAS (http://www.pandasfoundation.org.uk/)
· Action on Postpartum Psychosis (https://www.app-network.org/)
· ICON – ICON is all about helping people who care for babies to cope with crying (https://iconcope.org/)
· Best Beginnings – we work to engage, equip, educate and empower parents, from conception, to maximise their children's life chances. We harness tech and innovation in order to scale our co-created, evidence-based interventions. We work to help parents build knowledge and confidence to support their own well-being and their children's long-term physical, mental and emotional development. We campaign, collaborate to influence policy, and use digital and non-digital platforms to support a range of national and global initiatives aimed at positive change - empowering self-care and enhancing service delivery to improve long term health outcomes. (https://www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/)
Birth trauma
· Birth Trauma Association (BTA). We’re a charity that supports women who suffer birth trauma – a shorthand term for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after birth. (https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk/)
Miscarriage and baby loss
· Stephanie Fretter, Bereavement Midwife, Queen Alexandra Hospital: “As the bereavement midwife I support families that have suffered a pregnancy loss from 20 weeks that have been admitted to delivery suite at this very sad time. After the birth, I support staff and families and I continue contact with the families and support them until their post loss appointment with the consultant. Any questions are discussed and answered with the consultant and future plans are made. I work very closely with outside agencies such as SANDS, Ripples of Compassion, 4 Louis to name but a few.”
· Miscarriage Association – if you’ve been affected by miscarriage, molar pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy, we hope this website will provide the information that you’re looking for.
We hope that family, friends, colleagues and health professionals will find the site helpful too. We’re here to help you through. (https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/)
· Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity. Provides support and information for anyone affected by the death of a baby, before or after birth. National helpline, local parent-led support, literature and online support. Works to improve care when a baby dies and promotes research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives. (www.sands.org.uk)
· Tommy’s – the largest charity funding research into the causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth; they also provide information for parents-to-be to help them have a healthy pregnancy and baby (https://www.tommys.org/)
· National Bereavement Care Pathway for pregnancy and baby loss (https://nbcpathway.org.uk/); (https://nbcpathway.org.uk/parents/resources-bereaved-parents-and-families)
· 4 Louis – 4louis provide useful tools, equipment and training free of charge to hospital units, hospices and other professionals who sadly have the job of comforting grieving families who suffer a miscarriage, Stillbirth Neonatal or child death. (https://4louis.co.uk/what-we-do-and-how)
· Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) – ARC is the only national charity helping parents and healthcare professionals through antenatal screening and its consequences (https://www.arc-uk.org/)
· Aching Arms is here to help and support you when you’ve experienced the heartbreak of losing your baby, during pregnancy, at birth or soon after. (https://www.achingarms.co.uk/)
· Ripple of Compassion – Supporting children with cancer/life-limiting conditions, their families & bereaved parents. (https://www.ripplesofcompassion.com/)
Pregnancy options
· Pregnancy Options Centre offers a free counselling service for anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy, giving them time and space to explore their thoughts and feelings in a safe non-judgemental environment. They have expanded in 2022 to cover the Portsmouth area. (https://optionschichester.org.uk/)
Baby born too soon or too sick
· Bliss exists to give every baby born premature or sick in the UK the best chance of survival and quality of life. (https://www.bliss.org.uk/)
LGBTQ+
· How perinatal mental health services can be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ parent families (https://ihv.org.uk/news-and-views/voices/lgbtq-parent-families-and-perinatal-mental-health/)
· LGBTQ+ rights (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/parenting-rights)
· Pregnant pause – a guide for lesbians on how to get pregnant (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/pregnant_pause_with_cover_2.pdf)
· A guide for gay dads (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/A_Guide_for_Gay_Dads__1_.pdf)
· What issues do lesbian co-mothers face in their transition to parenthood? (https://www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/Walker%20K%20What%20issues%20do%20lesbian%20co-mothers%20face%20in%20their%20transition%20to%20parenthood_0.pdf)
· LGBTIQ Families and perinatal anxiety and depression (https://www.panda.org.au/lgbtiq-families-and-perinatal-anxiety-depression)
Single parents
· Gingerbread is a charity which supports single parent families (https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/)
· Single Parent Action Network is for anyone who is raising children on their own, whether through relationship breakup, illness, bereavement, work commitments or choice. It is run by Single Parent Action Network, a campaigning organisation working to make sure that your stories and your questions about single parenting are an important part of the social and political agenda. (http://www.singleparents.org.uk/)
Young parents
· Family Lives provides support to all parents 24/7 over the phone and has a list of useful signposting resources (https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/your-family/parenting/where-can-young-parents-go-for-support/)
· The Parenting Network in Portsmouth runs the Young Families Project for parents aged 25 and under (https://theparentingnetwork.co.uk/young-families-project)
Twins and multiples
· Twins Trust (formerly known as TAMBA) (https://twinstrust.org/)
Older children
· Managing difficult toddler behaviour (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/dealing-with-difficult-behaviour/)
· NSPCC's guide to positive parenting (https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/leaflets/positive-parenting)
· Book: ‘The Sun Will Shine Again: My Mummy Has A Poorly Mind’ – ‘The sun will shine again’ is an illustrated children’s book exploring maternal mental health. It can be used by mums, other family members, schools and health professionals to start conversations and education around maternal mental health challenges. It does this through the beautifully illustrated story of Faith and her Mummy. Children will see the book as a story to be enjoyed again and again. (https://www.thesunwillshineagain.co.uk/)
Apps
· Baby Buddy App is a free multi-award winning, interactive pregnancy and parenting guide. Baby Buddy is also designed as an intervention to support the communication and work of front line practitioners (https://www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/baby-buddy)
· Peanut – We provide a safe space for mothers, expectant mothers and those trying to conceive to build friendships, ask questions and find support. Introducing you to women nearby who are at a similar stage in life, Peanut provides access to a community of women who are there to listen, share information and offer valuable advice. Whether it’s understanding IVF, adoption, pregnancy, first years or nursery and beyond, Peanut is a place to connect with women like you. (https://www.peanut-app.io/)
· Mush – Mush is the friendliest app for mums. Created by Katie and Sarah after they met on maternity leave in a drizzly playground, it has now spawned over 2 million friendships and is the number one social app for mums. Mums who use Mush can find friends who live nearby with kids the same age, arrange meetups, get advice from parenting experts and fellow mums on the topics keeping them awake at night and join chat groups based on everything from their due date to their love of reality TV. (https://letsmush.com/the-app/)
Perinatal OCD
· Maternal OCD offers specific support for perinatal OCD (https://maternalocd.org/)
· OCD UK is a national OCD charity, run by and for people with lived experience of OCD (https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/ocd-during-prenatal-postnatal/)
· OCD Action is another national charity focusing on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/resource/perinatal-ocd-leaflet)
· This is also a helpful website for psychoeducation and normalisation of intrusive infant related harm thoughts (https://drcarolineboyd.com/infant-related-harm-thoughts)
· NHS information on OCD (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/)
· MIND information on perinatal OCD (https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/postnatal-depression-and-perinatal-mental-health/perinatal-ocd/#.WxqQ6iAo9PY)
· The Postpartum Stress Center: Good Moms have Scary Thoughts #speakthesecret www.postpartumstress.com
· Triumph Over Phobia (TOP UK) is charity that helps people who have phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and other related anxiety disorders (https://www.topuk.org/)
· ‘Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A healing guide to the secret fears of new mothers’ by Karen Kleiman – an excellent book for both parents and professionals (Author’s website – https://postpartumstress.com/)
· Karen Kleiman – ‘Dropping the baby and other scary thoughts’ book
Legal rights during pregnancy and post-birth
· Birthrights – Birthrights champions respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth by protecting human rights. We provide advice and information on your legal rights, train doctors and midwives, and campaign to change maternity policy and systems. (https://www.birthrights.org.uk/)
· Pregnant Then Screwed is the leading charity working to end the motherhood penalty. We campaign on the issues that impact pregnant women and working mums, offering free advice while working for meaningful change. (https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/)
· Maternity Action is the UK’s maternity rights charity dedicated to promoting, protecting and enhancing the rights of all pregnant women, new mothers and their families to employment, social security and health care. (https://maternityaction.org.uk/)
Baby and infant mental health and wellbeing
· Common difficulties in the early years handouts by Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (https://www.annafreud.org/early-years/early-years-in-mind/common-difficulties/)
· ZERO TO THREE works to ensure that babies and toddlers benefit from the early connections that are critical to their well-being and development (https://www.zerotothree.org/)
· Getting to Know Your Baby (https://ihv.org.uk/families/getting-to-know-your-baby/)
For Dads
· Dadzclub - Dadzclub is not an activist group, we simply want to support men to be the best parents they can be, connect them with like minded fathers and promote the idea that... Dads don’t babysit. It’s called “Parenting”. (https://dadzclub.com/)
· Dad Matters – We aim to help dads have successful relationships with their families, and to support dads with anxiety, stress and mental health issues. We hope to get dads engaged with services that have traditionally been targeted at mums, and to train & support volunteer dads to work with us. We work directly with services that support Dads, families and especially babies to increase engagement and knowledge across the sector. We want to make sure dads know how important they are, how to access support when they need it and why it’s essential for baby’s development. (https://dadmatters.org.uk/)
· Dad Matters on International Father's Mental Health Day - 22nd June 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_dTyoITWg)
· Music Football Fatherhood is a great blog covering everything related to being a dad, from new dads to dads with kids who have special needs or explaining divorce to children. (http://musicfootballfatherhood.com/)
· Andys Man Club – We are talking groups for men because you’ve either been through a storm, are currently going through a storm or have a storm brewing in your life. (https://andysmanclub.co.uk/club-information/)
· DadPad – the essential guide for new dads, developed with the NHS. As a new dad you will feel excited, but you may also feel left out, unsure or overwhelmed. The DadPad can help by giving you the knowledge and practical skills that you need. The resource will support you and your partner to give your baby the best possible start in life. (https://thedadpad.co.uk/)
· TheDadsNet is a parenting essential, offering advice, support and knowledge through a community of dads on practical parenting and fatherhood. (https://www.thedadsnet.com/)
· MANtenatal was created by a father of 4 who attended two traditional antenatal courses over a 10 year period. The courses were good but they never seemed to give enough focus on preparing men for the journey to fatherhood. Imagine a virtual course (designed and delivered by dads and approved by NHS Midwives) that you can do from the comfort of your own home. That would be great but what if we could also recruit a squad of guys who openly talk about mental health issues impacting men too? We want to help guys to be the #bestdadyoucanbe... Welcome to MANtenatal. Get in touch and we will find the next available course date that works for you. (https://www.mantenatal.co.uk/)
· The Birthing4Blokes Online Course aims to provide you as father-to-be with everything that you need to be fully prepared for the big day. (https://birthing4blokes.com/)
· NEST was set up in 2016 and is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as part of a doctoral fellowship awarded to Sharin Baldwin. Sharin is a health visitor studying for her PhD at King’s College London. (http://www.newdadstudy.com/resources.html)
· DadsWork – DadsWork is a community project in East Lothian working with fathers and male care givers. It provides support groups, positive parenting classes, workshops on the role of fathers , home visits , trips and outings for fathers and their children. (http://www.dadswork.co.uk/)
Getting pregnant again, stillbirth and miscarriage
After going through the heartbreak of losing a baby during pregnancy or birth, it can be a difficult time for couples who learn they are expecting again. Mum Iona and Dad Luke speak openly about this and how they felt 'guilty for being excited about getting pregnant again'.
The couple met with bereavement officer Amy, founder of the Lily Mae Foundation, who helped them through the process and told them to 'normalise their fears and do what feels comfortable for them' in their next pregnancy.
It's so important that people affected by baby loss are given the right support. The Lily Mae Foundation offers great support services which can be found here ➡️ https://www.lilymaefoundation.org/
Other fantastic charities who are there to support parents include:
Sands - https://www.sands.org.uk
Petals - https://petalscharity.org
Child bereavement UK - https://www.childbereavementuk.org
The Miscarriage Association - https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk
You can read Iona and Luke's full story here ⬇️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-57163054
The couple have also shared their emotions of being pregnant again after losing their baby in a podcast with Stacey Dooley called 'Growing life around grief': https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09hvvxc
Blog on Baby Loss - Worst Girl Gang in the World
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1195643