The Government has set out its intention and commitment to supporting families. It recognises the crucial role of health visitors in taking the lead in communities to deliver services in partnership with midwives, GPs, Sure Start Children’s centres and others.
The recently published Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-2015: A Call To Action and its associated work programmes, underlined and emphasised the value of taking a ‘stepped approach’ to delivering services; targeting and supporting families early with a range of interventions.
Looking after mind, body, mother and child
“Good mental health is as important for a mother as her physical health,” explains Pauline Watts, Public Health Nursing, DH.“ The guidance we have recently published is primarily for health visitors, and is also relevant to those working with health visitors, including midwives, GPs and all those in the primary healthcare team.
“The guidance strengthens their ability to undertake appropriate assessments and to provide guidance and support for women at risk of maternal mental health issues. Our aim is to make sure mothers have access to mental health support throughout pregnancy and into early motherhood, to support both the mother and her baby to have the strongest possible start in life.”
Giving support to the family
It supports recommendations in the Healthy Child Programme (2009), which focus on a wide range of health and wellbeing issues, including offering supportive, targeted, services to families where one or both parents have a mental health need. Research evidence has emerged for the need to change the way midwives, health visitors and specialist mental health services work with pregnant and postnatal women in relation to their mental as well as their physical health. This recognition is based on compelling evidence from research, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE clinical guideline CG45), cross government mental health reports (2009, 2011) and reports from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Why a maternal mental health pathway is needed
- Maternal mental health and well-being is important for mothers and for the attachment and development of their children
- the pathway describes the journey of support mothers should expect from antenatal to the first few months of a baby’s life
- it demonstrates the key contribution health visitors play during this period and also highlights the links with other services and integrated working
- it demonstrates outcomes and rationale for the clinical pathway
- it shows clinicians how to work in a more productive and integrated way
- it includes assessment and early identification of maternal mental health needs and ensures appropriate support is available
Find out more
If you are a health visitor, midwife, member of a primary healthcare team or commissioner working in the area of maternal mental health, and would like to understand the full rationale behind the maternal mental health pathway, download these PDF documents:
- MMH pathway guidance (PDF 110kb)
