OVERVIEW
Becoming a parent is one of the biggest changes a person can go through. Alongside the joy, it can bring exhaustion, worry and huge upheaval — and for a significant number of new parents it also brings a mental health problem that deserves to be taken seriously. Perinatal mental health covers the whole period of pregnancy and the first year after a baby is born. During this time, conditions such as the ‘baby blues’, postnatal depression and, more rarely, postpartum psychosis can affect how a parent feels, copes and bonds with their baby. This course is an awareness-level introduction to those conditions, written to help you notice when someone may be struggling and to respond with kindness, confidence and the right signposting.
The course covers the difference between the baby blues and postnatal depression, how PND affects fathers and partners too, postpartum psychosis as a psychiatric emergency, the emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioural signs, the impact on bonding and the wider family, how PND differs from normal newborn tiredness, risk factors, screening and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, professional treatment including talking therapies and medication, and how colleagues, family and friends can offer practical, compassionate support.
