New Fife-wide service to help support mental health of new mums

It is estimated that around one in every 20 pregnant women in Scotland will require mental health support at some point during their pregnancy.

The new perinatal mental health team is a Fife-wide specialist service that will provide assessment and holistic treatment for women at risk of developing a significant mental disorder in pregnancy or the postnatal period.

The new team is based at Whyteman’s Brae Hospital in Kirkcaldy and will include specialist nurses, a consultant psychiatrist, and a consultant psychologist.

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The 2017-2027 Mental Health Strategy highlighted a gap in specialist postnatal mental health support in Scotland, with the perinatal mental health team being formed as part of a response to that report and is funded from a share of a £50 million national investment by the Scottish Government.

Lynne Mosley, team leader, said: "Each year there are around 3500 babies born in Fife and whilst pregnancy can be an exciting time, it can also be a daunting prospect for many women who may have additional concerns beyond the immediate physical and mental demands of caring for a newborn.

"Things like financial worries, insecurity of housing and feelings of isolation can have a serious impact on mental health and research shows that women with children are at the greatest risk of suicide in the year that follows the birth of their child.

"Our new perinatal mental health service provides a bespoke mental health pathway for women and offers a person-centred package of care over a purely medical model.

"By doing this, and linking in with partner agencies if required, we can ensure women are given more effective, holistic support that will increase their chances of getting the best possible outcome.

"We have spent the last few months recruiting to the team and now everything is in place to scale up the support we provide.

"We have already started to receive referrals from colleagues across maternity services, Primary Care and the local Family Nurse Partnership and we look forward to extending this invaluable support to more women across Fife.”

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