PND nurses

'Join a campaign for specialist PND Nurses'

 

Recent research published by the charity Mind, highlights an increase in the number of Mothers suffering from Postnatal Depression. This shows that 1 in 6 Mothers in the UK now suffer from mental distress around childbirth and that 25% of maternal deaths are due to Postnatal Depression.

 

My friend Ruth Jackson, who is a Marketing and Fundraising Consultant (and also a previous sufferer of PND) has come up with the idea of campaigning for a specialised nursing service, 'Bluebell Nurses', for Mothers and Families affected by Postnatal Depression. It is envisaged that this service would be easy to access and offer a combination of clinical, emotional and practical support in the community. I am really excited by this idea as I think such a professional would have been a real asset to me throughout my illness and thus I am keen to support this campaign as much as I can.

Sadly, as you probably know a great deal of stigma still surrounds mental health and our hope is that the new nurses would offer a non-threatening way for women to receive the help they need without fear of judgement and stigma.

 

If you are someone who has suffered from Postnatal Depression, the partner of family member of someone who has, a health professional involved in this area or someone who would like to see more support available then Ruth would love to hear your views on this vision.

 

She would particularly welcome your thoughts on:

 

·      The role of the PND nurse - what would be the most useful aspects of this new service, e.g. Practical support, clinical expertise, family support, counselling or any other?

·      Have you experienced an area of care for PND that you found either particularly useful or that was lacking and difficult to access?

 

Feel free to send Ruth an email with your thoughts on these questions or any other aspects of support you feel would be useful.  Please also indicate if you would like to be kept up to date on the progress of the campaign and Ruth will contact you with future news.