Perinatal Mental Health

We specialise in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of women and birthing parents affected by moderate to severe mental health problems during and after pregnancy. We offer specialist advice about the use of mental health medications during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding.

We also offer pre-conception advice for women and birthing parents planning a pregnancy who have concerns about their mental health. Read our Perinatal Mental Health Service – preconception advice

We offer specialist treatments that can help you and your baby’s bond.

For everyone who is accepted into our service, we aim to make contact within 14 days. In an emergency, we would aim to see you within 4 hours. If you are planning a pregnancy, we would aim to see you within 28 days. We will work together with you, your family and other services involved in your care. This will include midwives, obstetricians, health visitors and GPs, as well as social care, other mental health teams and voluntary sector organisations. We will agree an individualised plan of care for you during your pregnancy and in the postnatal period.

We realise that it can be difficult to travel to clinics. Therefore, if you have difficulty leaving home for whatever reason, all of our clinical team can see you at home or another location acceptable to you, as long as it is safe for us to do so.

You are very welcome to have your partner, a family member or a friend to be with you at any appointment. We also run antenatal and postnatal therapy groups in all our local areas.

Find out more in our Perinatal Mental Health Service leaflet

We’ve also developed a guide

Focusing on mental health support for new and expectant mums in Barnsley.

Covering a broad spectrum, the guide provides examples of emotions and behaviours and signposts to the relevant support – from voluntary and community organisations through to emergency help. The guide expresses the importance of seeking help early to prevent mental health difficulties worsening too.

Why would someone choose the service?

If you are reading this, either you or a loved one is probably struggling at a time which is very important for you and your family. Often people can feel shame and guilt about asking for help, or fear that their baby will be removed from their care.

We would like you to know that it is absolutely OK to ask for help at this time and that you will not be judged for contacting us…

• You might be screaming inside but having to put on a brave face to the world, in order to let everyone else think you are fine.
• You are probably suddenly feeling very different from your normal self, and not know where to turn, who to ask for help, or where to go.
• You might be fearing for your and your baby’s future and safety.
• You might be wanting to run away, be feeling that you are a terrible mum, or that baby would be better off with someone else
• You might be struggling to bond with your baby
• You might be anxious about anything and everything, especially about baby
• You might be getting terrible pictures and thoughts jumping into your head, which you are frightened of telling anyone about

If reading the above sounds just like you, PLEASE ask for help!

You can find out more information here

Useful links: Acacia – six multilingual perinatal mental health awareness films

The service is commissioned by NHS South Yorkshire ICB. 

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission.

The Sheffield Perinatal Mental Health Service provides specialist assessment and treatment to mums and their families living in Sheffield.

We offer confidential, non-judgemental care and treatment to women with mental health problems who are planning to have a baby, are already pregnant or have given birth in the last 12 months. You can find out more about the service and the support we offer by taking a look at our service leaflet.

How do I access the service?

To access the service, you must be referred usually by a health or social care professional working in Sheffield. This could be your GP, community mental health team, midwife or health visitor.

If you’d like to make a referral to the team you need to complete a referral form here and email it to the team: sct-ctr.sheffieldperinatalmentalhealthservice@nhs.net (make this a link with the word ‘email’)

We are based at Argyll House in Nether Edge in Sheffield. Our team is comprised of a range of professionals who have specialist skills in supporting parents in the transition to parenthood, in supporting parent-infant relationships, and in assessing and treating mental health difficulties. We offer a range of evidence-based interventions; please contact the team if more details might be helpful

Before you make a referral to our service it may be helpful to read our referral guidance which can be found at the end of the referral form.

Who commissions the service?

The service is commissioned by NHS South Yorkshire ICB. 

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission at Centre Court in Sheffield.

We work in partnership with Light Peer Support charity

The Rotherham and Doncaster Perinatal Service provides a high quality service to women, birthing parents and families across Rotherham and Doncaster.

We are based at Badsley Moor Lane, Rotherham and Forest Gate Centre, Tickhill Road Hospital, Doncaster. 

The Perinatal Service accepts referrals for women and birthing parents with moderate to severe mental health difficulties who have a confirmed pregnancy, are in the postnatal period or at risk of developing mental health difficulties up until their child is 12 months old. It is hoped with future investment this will increase to 24 months of support for some women or birthing parents who have been referred later in the perinatal period and require treatment beyond 12 months.  We also hope to launch in the future an offer to Dads/partners.  We currently offer signposting to other support services to dads and partners of women or birthing parents under our care. We also accept referrals for pre-conception advice for women or birthing parents planning a pregnancy and who wish to discuss medication and treatment.

We offer the following:

• Perinatal mental health assessment, treatment and if required diagnosis by our Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist and advice to medical colleagues within other teams working with women in the perinatal period. 
• We offer a multidisciplinary team approach where we are able to support the client more intensively and offer ‘wrap around’ care by seeing several MDT professionals as frequently as needed, including Perinatal Mental Health Nurses, Non-medical Prescribers, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Nursery Nurses and Support Workers.
• Parent infant bond and attachment interventions including baby massage, video interactive guidance and parent infant psychotherapy.
• Perinatal psychological treatment, so that more women/birthing people can access psychological interventions. This will include treatment groups such as a Perinatal Obsessive Compulsive Disorder group.
• We offer specialist assessments, to support women and birthing parents as they become a parent and to manage the difficulties that arise from their experience of parenting young infants.
• Close working with maternity services in developing trauma informed birth plans to minimise any stress and the impact on the woman or birthing parent when delivering their child.  

• Specialist perinatal risk assessment and ‘red flags’ (e.g. ‘new and persistent expressions of incompetency as a mother or estrangement from the infant) and ‘perinatal risk indicators’ (e.g. ‘older professional women with depression who appear to be functioning at high level’).

• Support with admission to Mother and Baby Units. The team will contribute, attend ward rounds, discharge planning, and follow up patients on discharge.

You can contact us on the email addresses below:-

Rotherham – rdash.rotherhamperinatalservice@nhs.net

Doncaster – doncaster.spa@nhs.net

Who commissions the service?

The service is commissioned by NHS South Yorkshire ICB. 

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission.

We work in partnership with Light Peer Support charity.

For details of how to access our service please follow the link to our website below:-

https://www.rdash.nhs.uk/services/our-services/adult-mental-health-services/sheffield-rotherham-and-doncaster-perinatal-mental-health-service/