It’s official – from April, all new mothers in England will receive a six-week check focusing on their physical & mental health, as well as one for their baby.
This fantastic news marks a landmark success for NCT’s #Hiddenhalf campaign, which we at Seraphine have been proud to support.
“It’s fantastic news that NHS England has responded to our calls for better postnatal mental health checks. This is a huge step forward and means more new mothers will be supported to talk about their mental health problems and get the help they need.”
Angela McConville, NCT’s Chief Executive
About the Six-Week Check
This new appointment will be separate from your baby’s six-week check, though it may be scheduled immediately before or afterwards to save you a journey. It’s an opportunity to focus on how you are coping, both physically and mentally, and to raise any concerns you may have with your GP.
The hope is, that this dedicated maternal health check will help to catch more cases of postnatal mental illness & get mothers who are struggling, the help they need.
Why it’s So Important
Mental health problems affect at least 1 in 10 women during pregnancy or the first year after birth.
But around half of new mothers’ mental health problems don’t get picked up at all.
The old system of a combined mother & baby appointment simply didn’t offer enough time to tackle tricky issues like postnatal mental health.
Now every new mum will have at least 10 minutes with a healthcare professional to focus purely on her.
Here at Seraphine, we are thrilled to hear such positive news & would like to congratulate the NCT & everyone else involved in this campaign!
Read more about Seraphine’s support for NCT’s #Hiddenhalf campaign here