10 More support for perinatal mental illness
Resolution submitted by the RCN Gynaecological Nursing Forum
That this meeting of RCN Congress urges RCN Council to lobby government for the appropriate resources to assess, support and treat women who develop perinatal mental illness
- Work led by the Nursing Development Committee
- Lead RCN Council member: Bobbie Chadwick
The findings of a 2001 confidential enquiry into maternal deaths, Why mothers die, highlighted suicide as a leading cause of maternal death. Since then, many publications have drawn attention to the UK-wide lack of availability of adequate services to assess and treat women at risk of developing mental illness around the time of their pregnancy or the birth of their baby.
At Congress 2007, the RCN overwhelmingly agreed to lobby government for appropriate resources to assess, support and treat women who develop perinatal mental illness. The RCN was also keen to support nurses in raising awareness of the NICE guidelines on antenatal and postnatal mental health, published in February 2007. A programme of regional and country RCN Women’s Mental Health Group events highlighted the issues for women, and the recommended types of specialist perinatal services.
The RCN has been keen to co-lobby and work collaboratively with other professional bodies similarly troubled by the level of illness and the scarcity of training and service development. The RCN provided a strong presence at a number of key conferences and events focused on the issue of providing timely and skilled care and services for an increasingly vulnerable population, and will continue to work with other organisations to address the issues of stigma that prevent women from accessing services and help.
The RCN is preparing to send letters to key government ministers on the need for general provision of effective services, and raising concerns relating to specific groups of women, highlighting the issue of domestic abuse — there is a 30 per cent increased risk during the period of pregnancy — and the specific and often woefully underestimated needs of black and minority ethnic women. The RCN is also looking for additional support from organisations such as the Royal College of Midwives.
The latest Confidental Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) report on maternal death, published in December 2007, further endorsed the need for inequalities in pregnancy outcomes to be addressed. While the report indicates a fall in the number of maternal suicides, the need for vigilance in addressing the needs of all women and their families remains paramount. This can be achieved through specialist services and staff, good inter-professional and inter-agency working, and effective management and commissioning. The RCN continues to be committed to supporting nurses through its influence in education, practice, research and policy areas.