Page contents
Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
Local Parent and Infant Emotional Wellbeing Support
Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Concerns
National perinatal mental health care pathway
Injuries in non-mobile babies
For expectant and new parents, Bristol Family Hubs and the Sirona Health Visiting Service webpages offer a range of resources and support services, including for Dads and co-parents.
Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
In Bristol, the perinatal period is often defined as spanning pregnancy and the first two years following childbirth. Some sources may refer to it as pregnancy and the first 12 months after childbirth.
Perinatal mental health is the term given to mental health during this period. Perinatal mental illness affects up to 27% of new and expectant mums and covers a wide range of conditions, such as antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety. If left untreated, mental health issues can have significant and long-lasting effects on the woman, the child, and the wider family (NHS England).
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance provides accessible information on perinatal mental health conditions, including common risk factors and guidance on spotting the signs.
Local Parent and Infant Emotional Wellbeing Support
Sirona provides the BNSSG Parent and Infant Emotional Wellbeing Support pathway, bringing together local resources and guidance, as well as contacts for their Health Visiting teams. This pathway should be used when there are emotional wellbeing concerns or a need for preventative or early intervention support.
Additional community support can also be accessed through Bristol Family Hubs.
Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Concerns
While many parents experience common mental health difficulties during the perinatal period, some conditions are more severe and require specialist assessment and care. These include Postpartum Psychosis, a serious but treatable mental illness that can occur following childbirth.
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) provides a Postpartum Psychosis Pathway to support professionals in recognising, assessing, and responding to suspected cases of Postpartum Psychosis.
Where concerns relate to perinatal mental health and or the parent–infant relationship, referrals should be made to the Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Service (AWP). Referrals are accepted up to 20 months postnatally.
Further information about referral processes and the Postpartum Psychosis Pathway is available on the AWP Perinatal Mental Health Landing Page.
National perinatal mental health care pathway
NHS England’s Perinatal Mental Health Care Pathways (2018) document sets out the national framework and policy drivers for transforming perinatal mental health care in England.
Injuries in non-mobile babies
Non-mobile babies cannot cause injuries to themselves and therefore must be considered at significant risk of abuse.
The Multi-Agency Guidance for Injuries in Non-Mobile Babies and attached Congenital dermal melanocytosis (previously known as blue spot marks) advice sheet were developed to support professionals addressing injuries on non-mobile babies. There is also an attached information leaflet that should be provided to parents where relevant.
These resources can be found on the KBSP Tri.X under the Injuries in non-mobile babies folder.