The perinatal period, from pregnancy until a year after giving birth, can be a vulnerable time. Alongside the joy of welcoming a new baby, many parents face anxiety, low mood, sleep challenges, feeding difficulties, relationship pressures or feelings they may find hard to talk about.

Too often, parents struggle to access the right support when they need it most. With help from fundraising and donations, Solent Mind has invested in specialist perinatal mental health training for our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, who support more than 24,000 people every year through NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire.

Solent Mind now has six Perinatal Champions who provide specialist supervision, develop resources and deliver training across the service. This is helping us offer more personalised, compassionate and effective support for parents.

One training attendee said:

“The facilitators created such a safe and supportive space to navigate emotive topics and help us to be open and learn together, challenging stigmas and broadening our insights into perinatal experiences.”

For one NHS Talking Therapies service user, this specialist support made a lasting difference:

“My practitioner’s training helped me through one of the most challenging times of my life. My life has been so much better as a result, meaning I can enjoy time with my baby more, my relationships have improved and I am more myself.”

Sometimes, small changes make the biggest difference, such as offering flexible appointments around childcare or creating a safe space to talk without judgement, stigma or shame.

This work would not be possible without the kindness and generosity of our supporters. Together, we are helping more parents feel heard, understood and able to move forward.

Thank you for making this possible.