About us

Who might benefit from support?

The Buckinghamshire Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service is part of a Buckinghamshire-wide Perinatal Mental Health Pathway . We are a secondary care service and focus on three key areas:

1. Our Preconception appointments are for women thinking of starting a family who have a severe and complex history of mental illness.

2. Referrals for women who are pregnant and up to one-year post birth, who have a complex or severe mental health condition.

3. Providing in-reach services to a range of other mental health services in Buckinghamshire.

Pregnancy and the period after birth can come with a variety of emotional, physical and practical changes for a mother and their partner or family. Mental health difficulties are experienced by as many as 1 in 5 women during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth.

Women experiencing mild to moderate problems should be supported by their General Practitioner and talking therapies may be accessed via Buckinghamshire Talking Therapies  (BTT). Women are encouraged to self-refer to BTT and can expect their care to be fast-tracked (Pages 18-19 of Royal College of Psychiatry – Full Implementation Guidance and NICE Quality Standards). We work closely with BTT, discussing cases at least weekly, to ensure that if more support is required care can be stepped-up to our team after discussion with your therapist.

Positive maternal mental health contributes to better outcomes for both mother and child including improved parenting and giving the child the best start in life.

Therefore, our specialist perinatal knowledge and expertise from a range of professionals means we are well-placed to meet the needs of the women we support, their infant(s) and family.

We work closely with professionals from other services such as midwives, health visitors, GPs, Obstetricians, Family Nurse Practitioners and other mental health teams including Adult Mental Health Teams. Our service is available Monday to Friday from 09.00hrs-17.00hrs (excluding Bank Holidays)

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