New mother and baby units for women in mental health crisis

Women experiencing perinatal mental health problems will benefit from three new mother and baby units funded by NHS England.

The services will provide inpatient support for mothers experiencing severe mental ill health, including post-partum psychosis.

Construction to begin

The units, one each in East Anglia (covering Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk); the North West (Cumbria and Lancashire) and South West (Cornwall, Devon and Somerset) are due to begin construction in March.

NHS England associate director for perinatal mental health, Giles Berrisford said: 'These new units will help areas we know have access issues and are part of our overall aims for transforming perinatal mental health care.'

Meanwhile, The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) has recently launched a new mapping tool.

The tool allows health professionals to rate their perinatal mental health services against a national standard to identify strengths and gaps where more work is needed.

Further information:

Perinatal mental health mapping tool