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Supporting Perinatal Mental Health

The perinatal period which covers pregnancy and up to a year following the birth of a child, is perhaps one of the most important times in parents' lives for developing secure, nurturing relationships with their children.

Healthcare professionals have a duty to work in partnership with each woman and her family, to respect her need for information and care which allows her to make the best decisions for herself, her pregnancy, her baby and her family. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of fathers and partners is also vital.

Different levels of knowledge and skills are required by members of the NHS Wales workforce in order to promote positive well-being and good mental health in mothers, babies and families during the perinatal period.

Our workforce should also feel equipped to intervene in a timely and helpful way when mental ill-health is present.

This page collates resources signposting healthcare professionals to information that may be of use within their particular roles.

The Wales Perinatal Mental Health Network:

  • brings together a range of professionals from different sectors
  • works together with women and their families to develop services ‘for them and with them’
  • objectives include providing national leadership and a whole system approach, to drive forward the further development of perinatal mental health services that are evidence-based, prudent, proportionate and focus on early intervention and prevention across the whole pathway; All health boards will meet Type 1, 2 and 3 RCPsych CCQI Standards and demonstrate a plan to work towards accreditation.

Visit Perinatal Mental Health - NHS Wales Executive for contact information.

The overall aim of these e-learning modules is to provide a highly detailed introduction for staff working from ‘informed’ through to ‘specialist’ levels as outlined within the Wales Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Curricular Framework.

Access is via Y Ty Dysgu. To navigate to the modules, log in, navigate to library, select 'mental health' and finally select 'perinatal (open to all)'.

Alternatively, you can access the modules directly via the links below:

Information on who should complete the modules can be found in the table at the bottom of this webpage: Curricular Framework - NHS Wales Executive.

For further details, visit Launch of new perinatal and infant mental health training modules on Y Ty Dysgu.