Sutton Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Conference

Nov 2019

Perinatal Mental Wellbeing Report

( mums/Dads & Partners)

1

Background, Development and

Implementation

• Part of planned ‘Getting the best

start in life’ project

• Partly funded by Healthwatch

England

• Worked with Sutton Perinatal and

Infant Mental Health Early Help

Network to develop the questions

and methodology (MVP support too)

• Paper and online

• Partners included

• £150 prize draw

• 317 responses

2

Who completed the survey

23.3% (74)

75.4% (239)

1.3% (4)4.7% (15)

I am pregnant I have given birthwithin the last 2

years

My partner ispregnant

My partner hasgiven birth in the

last 2 years

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Which of the following statements apply to you:

3

Information

Combining those that hadn’t received any information and those that hadn’t

received enough shows that 68.8% had an information deficit.

44.5%

28.1%

1.6%

24.3%

1.6%

Not enough Right amount Too much I have notreceived anyinformation

I did notwant/need

anyinformation

0%

10%20%30%40%50%

How much information have you been given about perinatal mental wellbeing (please select one

answer)?

4

Main source of information

58 (24%)

46 (19%)

39 (16%)

24 (10%)

16 (7%)

15 (6%)

10 (4%)

8 (3%)

8 (3%)

7 (3%)

5 (2%)

4 (2%)

2 (1%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

What was your main source of information (optional)? This was a free-text question that has been put in to categories. Some respondents gave more than one main source so their first response has been used. Only those that specifically said ‘none’ have been counted under ‘none’ (blanks were not included).

5

Help for partners

1%

71%

28%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Yes No Don't know

Do you think there is enough support for the perinatal mental health of dads or partners?

Yes

No

Don't know

6

Good

Sutton Uplift - I was offered 6 sessions of

telephone CBT

Dr to talk to and have a cry

Breastfeeding support worker

also invaluable for support or I would

have given up breastfeeding Walking groups helped me to meet people and enjoy

nature and all the remedial benefits of that. I had a huge support network.

Health Visitor, Sutton Uplift & Children's Centre They have been guiding me in the process to understand my

feeling and how normal it is to feel the way I do.

7

I understand that mental issues are

not a reason to feel ashamed, bad state can go away quicker if we get right help

If I was worried, I would want support to minimise any impact on my baby.

More people talk about it now, and it's not so secret

I would feel comfortable as I know there are

many people willing to help. It’s just

having the courage to say something

The support given after birth was great and I feel that my local health visitors are very approachable that I would be able to talk to them about getting help

and advice.

Not so good

When I went for my checks after

giving birth no one really checked how

I was feeling.

Midwife at my post natal check was very unhelpful and said only that it was ‘normal’ to struggle didn’t feel able to

open up past.

I think I would have fallen through the cracks. I had to be persistent to get advice from a

health visitor and the gp did not have time/the right

expertise.

GP - did not think I had problems and more or less told me to go

away.

Midwives/GP don’t have enough time to help unless you are in crisis.

Online research is not helpful because it is not tailored to you personally.

8

A mum doesn’t really want to admit they are finding it difficult when they

chose to have the baby in the first place. You kind of think you should be

grateful and carry on as there are people that can’t have children.

I would be worried about being judged

that I am not coping.

I asked for help and didn’t get any: it’s hard to ask for help

and I wouldn’t do so again as I didn’t get any help back.

I am a mental health professional so would find it awkward asking for help

myself.

I don’t really understand much about this - what is normal when you’re pregnant and

hormonal changes are taking effect?

Barriers to access

4%

7%

30%

37%

37%

45%

45%

51%

55%

67%

Other (please specify)

Cultural or language barriers

Lack of services

Delay in accessing support (waiting lists etc.)

Worrying that my baby may be taken away from me

Difficulties accessing support (e.g. child care, time,…

Stigma of mental health

Anxiety that social services would become involved

Not knowing how to access support

Worrying about other people’s reaction

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

What do you think are the barriers to accessing help and/or support for perinatal mental health issues (please select all that apply)?

• Lack of opportunities for private, sensitive discussions

• Lack of trust with some health visitors, life insurance exclusions

• Midwife not signposting support

• Not being able to identify the symptoms

Respondents gave the following responses for ‘other’ barriers:

9

• Awareness that that’s what they’re suffering from

• Embarrassment of not coping

• Lack of belief that help exists/effective

• Lack of belief that I could be helped

Recommendations

1. Investigate ways to fill the information gaps for the 69% of respondents

who had either received insufficient or no information regarding perinatal

mental health.

2. Develop a campaign to a) help remove the stigma around perinatal mental

health b) reduce fears about social services intervention

3. As people would like to access information online, put in place clear,

practical support information in one place online and promote significantly

to ensure this is the first place that local people visit for information (to

include signposting to other trusted organisations).

4. Look to further develop support for partners, using feedback from the

existing partners group that has already been established.

5. Develop support/training for GPs and other relevant health professionals to

improve their understanding of perinatal mental, how to respond and

where to access quality information.

6. Carry out additional outreach/research to find out the views of ethnic

minorities who have not taken part in the survey. If necessary, develop

specific tools to support these groups to access the information they need.

10

Sutton Dads Perinatal Mental

Health and Wellbeing Survey

Results

Background

Having a baby is a significant life event and it’s completely natural to go through a wide range of feelings and emotions. Often the experience can

focus on the pregnant mother-to-be, meaning the partner’s health and wellbeing may be overlooked. This could cause them to feel insignificant and distanced from both the pregnancy and the arrival of the newborn.

We want to discover more about the experiences of partners during pregnancy and the baby’s first year of life, with a particular interest in

supporting dads / partners emotional wellbeing and the developing bond / relationship with the baby.

Sutton Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Early Help Network subgroup developed the questions and methodology we needed to capture the

information that’ll help to improve support locally. This group has representation from a wide variety of groups and organisations including NHS, local authority providers and commissioners, voluntary sector and

community groups.

It was agreed that a survey available online and on paper was the most practical way to engage with dads / partners of mums to be. Also, the

survey was to be shared with the already established dad’s focus group.

Over a period of 3 months, we received a total of 21 responses which were reviewed and analysed.

Developing the Project

Analysis | Demographics

Tell us about you...

How old are you?

What is your ethnic origin?

Do you consider yourself to have a disability?

Which of the following best describes you?

Which, if any, best describes your religious beliefs?

FindingsPlease note there were 21 responses to this survey. Occasionally, respondents gave

more than one answer to some questions, therefore the total number of responses does

not always add up to 21.

Some respondents missed answering the questions completely.

Tell us about your current situation...

How involved did you feel in your partner’s pregnancy?

When you attend / attended appointments with your partner, do you feel the health professionals interacted with you and included you within the appointments?

How much information was available to you as a new father / parent? 1 = No Information / Support and 10 = Plenty of Information / Support

Would you have benefitted from more information / support about your transition into parenthood?

If you responded yes to the previous question, what information would have been beneficial?

How would you prefer to access the information / support you selected above?

If you access any information / support currently, how do you receive this?

Do you think there should be groups specifically for dads / partners?

Please provide reasoning for your answer to the previous question - If yes, why? If no, why?

Yes No

Be involved in parenting better Will not be able to attend due to

working times (2)

Meet other parents (4) Our community provides these groups

(African Christian)

Learn from other dad’s experiences

Can understand and speak about

same issues

My partner will understand baby and

me better

When do you think these groups should be, to ensure they’re accessible for dads / partners?

“I think a combination of weekdays and

evenings would be good. weekdays

could actually involve practical tips and

advice and the father could bring the

baby, evenings could be more social

and discussion lead.”

If there was a group available for dads / partners in Sutton, how likely is it you’d attend?1 = Very Unlikely and 10 = Very Likely

The Sutton Children’s Centre runs several groups during the week for all parents to attend (examples include: Baby and Me, Hello Baby, Stay and Play). As a father / partner, are / were you aware of these groups and how to access information about them?

Have you attended any of these groups?

If you have any further comments about Dads Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing in Sutton, please leave them below.

The Dads I've met through

NCT bond over things

Dads usually do - football,

having a pint/curry. Any

groups would best be

focused around the social

side as well to increase the

openness of the group and

likelihood of people talking

about their mental health.

Mothers may not tell the

health visitor the whole

truth about how they feel.

Would be good to have a

one to one with the HV too.

Good to have collective

and individual

conversations.

It’s difficult when dads

receive conflicting

information. Advice should

be the same whether it is a

health visitor or a

community midwife.

A lot of men rely on NHS

information on google.More information should be

made available for parents

trying to have a child. I feel

like information of this sort

is not readily available.

Key Findings

Key Findings | Part One

• 81% of respondents felt very involved / involved in their partners pregnancy.

• Just over 60% felt that health professionals interacted with them during appointments with the partner, but 33% did not.

• The majority of the respondents felt that there was information available to them as a new father / parent, but they would still like more information to be available.

• Just over 50% of respondents would like more information on “coping with my crying baby”, followed by “changing relationships and family dynamics” and “looking after my own physical and emotional wellbeing”.

• The least requested information was for “advice on practical care (e.g. nappy changing)” and “bonding with your baby”.

Key Findings | Part Two

• The majority of dads / partners would like to access the information through postnatal groups for both parents.

• Currently, most respondents access information via online, followed by friendsand then social media.

• 81% of respondents felt that there should be groups specifically for dads / partners. The 19% who answered “no” offered reasoning such as “do not have time due to work commitments”.

• The majority agreed that the groups should run in the evenings.

Dads Focus Group | 26/09/19

Purpose: Explore what information / services are required for dads / partners whose partners are pregnant or have children 1 year old or below.

The focus group was held at Victor Seymour Children Centre.

4 dads attended, 1 with a baby!

Findings | Part One

• All dads agreed there is a need for more provision for dads/partners.

• Talked about existing services they had accessed which were limited but included books which had been helpful. Books which had been useful – ‘Man vs toddler’ and ‘Pregnancy for men’.

• A group run by the Hope Church called ‘Good Fathers’ it meets on first Saturday of the month at Robin Hood Infants, has parent and child session and then occasional Dads days out.

• The results of the survey resonated with all of them in terms of some had been given some information in pregnancy stage – notably through NCT some had limited input re the impact on dads and dads needs and some had nothing.

Findings | Part Two

• All felt the need to be more included in the antenatal and postnatal stage, to have more information about processes and procedures and roles of the professionals involved and what their partners were going through – impact on body and emotions at different stages.

• Recognition that appointments and services during the day were potentially difficult for partners /dads to access due to work commitments and if dads are main carers although they are billed as open to all carers / parents they were predominantly female in practice and could be difficult to attend especially if dad felt uncomfortable.

• The group talked for a long time and it was evident there is a need for a forum / space for them to share experiences and talk and they all wanted to feel able to do things with their babies and children.

• Three of the dads there had completed the survey but the third had not seen it – he had picked up the info about the focus group but missed the survey.

Suggestions

• Information on the health visiting website for Dads – links, apps, resources, videos and webinars – maybe of antenatal talks / sessions which Dads could access in the evening when they are home.

• Find ways to include partner / dad from the start if possible – email / write to both parents re appointments, information provision so that not everything is channelled through mum.

• Think about how we ‘get to’ dads / partners, same methods we use for mums may not work e.g. they all said they didn’t know about the health visiting website and didn’t follow on Facebook – but if they knew about it and it had resources aimed at them they might?

• Would be really useful to have a way of sharing things like where are the baby and family friendly places in Sutton e.g. baby changing places accessible to Dads, places which are breastfeeding friendly for family outings.

Next Steps

• The group would be keen to be involved further and definitely would like feedback from the network.

• All attendees are happy to be emailed or contacted by text.