Postpartum women receive incredible opportunity

Postpartum women are getting a project especially dedicated to them!

The project, called Improving Postpartum Outcomes of Severe Mental Illnesses in Ethnically Diverse Mothers (POSIE), is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and involves UK universities, including Sheffield Hallam University, NHS trusts, and charities.

The study is focused on improving care for mothers experiencing conditions such as severe depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and psychosis due to postpartum.

Professor Hora Soltani, professor of maternal and infant health at Sheffield Hallam University and a member of the POSIE project team, said: "As lead for the perinatal mental health theme within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, I am delighted to be part of this very important project.”

She continued, "Becoming a mother is often assumed to be a joyful and transformative experience, but for some women it can also be a period of significant vulnerability with poorer outcomes for underserved communities.”

"This project aims to ensure that every mother, regardless of background, receives compassionate, effective, and culturally responsive support needed for recovery and long-term wellbeing,” it was added.

"Perinatal mental health matters as its impact spans generations, making equity and inclusion a societal imperative."

Suicide remains the leading cause of maternal death within the first year after giving birth and the number of new mothers seeking mental health support rose by 30 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

Shaheda Akhtar, a peer support facilitator from Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) and PPI lead on the POSIE project, said: "We regularly hear from Black and Asian women who've had postpartum psychosis about delays in treatment and admission, that care and information did not feel appropriate to them, and they had difficulties finding information about this treatable medical emergency.”

"Our peer supporters help women to understand what they are experiencing and combat isolation and fear,” she mentioned, adding, "At APP, we educate health professionals by sharing women’s powerful stories, but we know that they are crying out for evidence-based, practical ways to improve care."

The POSIE project will work with at least 120 women with lived experience of postpartum severe mental illness from Manchester, Sheffield, London and Oxford, who will help in designing culturally safe care pathway, which will then be tested and evaluated at six sites across the country.