Publish date: 27 April 2023
A bias around the image of motherhood has been created for years and the stigma for women seeking help for their perinatal mental health is real. And sadly, most women suffer in silence.
Honey Attridge’s life changed after having her daughter, the traumatic birth experience led to her being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, Honey shares her experience and how the ideal of motherhood, and all it should be, leaves most women feeling inadequate if they can’t conform to it. She says:
“A simple choice such as choosing whether to breastfeed or not, can make one feel judged especially when you are trying your best.”
“There is a perception around motherhood and women are meant to conform to it despite how you may be feeling. No one prepares you for the feelings you may experience, the loneliness and all too often not feeling you can speak up. It highlights the importance of perinatal mental health quite often being overlooked and the difference awareness and a robust support system can make.
Our perinatal mental health service is a special team of from a team of perinatal mental health practitioners, midwives and therapists, that give extra help to women who're having mental health problems when they’re pregnant or after they’ve had their baby. The service helped Honey to seek help and not feel judged for how she was feeling. Honey’s now a peer support worker for M-TLC (Maternity Trauma and Loss Care), service which helps women in the perinatal period. She says there’s a lot of work to do, particularly around the stigma of being unwell where many mothers fear they may lose their baby.
Honey’s also a member of the Expert by Experience (EBE) group for service users. The group is a safe space amongst a group of individuals that have had different experiences and have come to form a community. Honey actively works toward breaking these biases. She focusses on promoting the service, encouraging more people to seek help when they need it.
She says: “Luckily I received help from the Perinatal mental health team and I am so incredibly grateful.”
Find out more about our perinatal service here Perinatal mental health :: West London NHS Trust