New and expectant Rotherham mums given more support with launch of mental health service

The service will support 600 women a year in South Yorkshire who are planning to have a baby, are pregnant or recently given birth and have been diagnosed with a serious or complex mental health problem or are thought to be developing one.

There is also fresh support for dads, partners and their families. 

Amy Jenkin, service lead for the Sheffield Rotherham and Doncaster Perinatal Mental Health Service, said: “Everyone has a real passion to support these mums and families and we share a genuine belief that even in the darkest moments, with the right support people can get better.

“The relationships we have with our service users are paramount and underpin the ethos of collaboration and compassion which is helping this service to thrive.”

Health services in Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield came together to bid successfully for funds totalling £880,000 from NHS England.

The money means Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust and local perinatal peer support charity Light have been able to form the new joint service.

Rachel Maltby, service lead for Rotherham, said the provision in the borough had been “very limited” previously, with just one person in place, but the fresh funding had allowed this to rise to nine. 

“This now allows us to deliver a gold standard perinatal mental health service to the families of Rotherham with evidenced-based interventions and treatment from a variety of different professionals,” Ms Maltby said. 

“We will be working closely with our partner agencies within mental health, primary care, maternity and Rotherham Borough Council to offer a more joined up experience and service for the families of the borough.” 

Ms Maltby said she was keen to help “break the stigma” attached to maternal mental health and bring it to the forefront of conversations. 

Visit www.shsc.nhs.uk to find out more about the mental health support available in Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield.