Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA)

Lived experience isn’t an add-on or a nice to have when it comes to our work, it’s central to it. We don’t invite our champions to just participate, we invite them to share their power. We have a small well-supported group of incredible Lived Experience Champions at MMHA. Around 50 in total. They’re supported by our brilliant coordinator Lydia, and are women and birthing people who have experienced perinatal mental health illness themselves. They use their experience to help shape the work we do, from policy conversations to public campaigns, to the resources clinicians use every day. Over the past year alone, Champions have contributed to ministerial discussions on perinatal mental health provision, co-produced new clinical resources on eating disorders in the perinatal period with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, taken part in panel discussions and featured in national exhibitions exploring maternal mental health. Our Champions choose what they share, and when. There’s never any pressure from us and never any expectation to share more than feels right in the moment. This work is valuable and valued. Champions are paid for their time and expertise and they are not expected to give voluntarily. Because often, the most powerful expertise is the kind that’s lived, and it deserves to be centred, embedded and valued 💜 x Nikki Wilson Luciana Berger

Catherine’s story is one of postpartum psychosis, and the disorientation, fear, and fragility it can bring. Talking of her birth experience in the US, after days without sleep, Catherine became increasingly unwell, experiencing hallucinations and a fractured sense of reality. She was admitted to a psychiatric ward, where fear and confusion shaped much of her early experience. “I thought I was going to be euthanised.” In the midst of it, small, physical objects became anchors; a pair of blue slippers and a notebook, offering moments of comfort, grounding, and a way to make sense of what was happening. “I just needed something to hold onto.” As Catherine began to recover, one truth became clear: postpartum psychosis, while overwhelming, is temporary. Her story speaks to the importance of compassionate care, understanding, and breaking the silence around maternal mental health, so that no one feels alone in experiences like this. “And I hope that what he sees, what is clear, is how hard I fought to come back to him, to us, to me.” Now, by sharing her story, Catherine hopes to challenge stigma and remind others that this illness does not define who they are. Thank you for sharing your story, Catherine 🤍 This is Also Motherhood explores the realities of pregnancy, parenthood, and perinatal mental health. These first-person stories come from 10 remarkable women, as we shine a light on the unfiltered realities of pregnancy and raising babies, through portrait and still life photography, and intimate audio interviews by Carolyn Mendelsohn FRSA FRPS Catherine’s portrait and story can be seen Photofusion London, in the This is Also Motherhood exhibition, open now, until 1st of August. As we continue our work to ensure that all women and birthing people are listened to, we won’t stop until every family in the UK gets the mental health support they need before, during, and after pregnancy. #ThisIsAlsoMotherhood #MaternalMentalHealth #PostpartumPsychosis

Calling the London Marathon Class of 2027 - would you like to join our team of fundraisers? If you’ve been one of the lucky ones to receive a ballot place for next year’s double event, but still want to raise some money for charity, then we’d love to have you! By fundraising for us, you’ll be contributing to the work we do to ensure all families impacted by perinatal mental health problems have access to high-quality, compassionate care and support. We rely so heavily on grants and support so we appreciate you all so much! 💜 There’s no minimum fundraising target 💜 You’d get a free running top when you raise over £500 💜 We’ll provide everything you need to get your fundraising going and offer check-ins and support on the run up to the day. Please share far and wide and tag anyone who you know has a ballot spot! #londonmarathon2027 #marathontraining 

Many parents worry during pregnancy and after birth. But perinatal anxiety can feel very different from everyday worries. For some people, it can feel like constant overthinking, difficulty switching off, repeatedly checking things are OK, or feeling responsible for preventing every possible danger. It's important to remember that everyone experiences perinatal mental health problems differently, and these examples won't reflect everyone's experience. If anxious thoughts are becoming overwhelming, affecting your daily life, relationships, sleep or ability to enjoy things, it's worth reaching out for support. You don't need to wait until you're in crisis to ask for help. 💜 If these experiences feel familiar, support is available. Visit the MMHA website to find out more about perinatal mental health and where to get help.

This was the moment Raiye's son Rome saw this beautiful portrait of his mum on the wall of the This is Also Motherhood exhibition currently installed in at Photofusion in Brixton. "I wanted him to see it", Raiye said, "because it's our story of strength and survival, not just mine". 💜 On Thursday evening we’re heading to Photofusion where award-winning photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn FRSA FRPS, will be joined by Raiye and Rome for an evening exploring the stories behind the exhibition. Carolyn will also talk about the process of working alongside ten extraordinary women to share their experiences of pregnancy, motherhood and perinatal mental illness with complete honesty and the utmost courage. Tickets are free, but limited to 45 seats. We don’t expect them to last, so book yours now on Photofusion’s website. 📍 Photofusion, 2 Beehive Place, Brixton, London 🗓️ Thursday 23 July, 6:30pm - 7:45pm We would love to see you there 💜

Perinatal mental health support shouldn't depend on luck, on which area you live in, or whether a service has capacity that week. A regular gift, even a small one, helps us keep showing up: for the families who need care right now, and for the long-term work of getting perinatal mental health taken seriously by government. For the cost of a coffee, or a takeaway, you can help make that happen. Whatever you can give, it adds up to real change. Prefer to give once? That works too, every donation goes toward the same goal. Donate today, just click here: https://lnkd.in/et_B5RDd

We're delighted to welcome the Maternal Mental Health Alliance as a sponsor of the Black Baby Loss Awareness C.I.C Equitable Bereavement Care Conference 2026. Their commitment to improving maternal mental health and reducing inequalities aligns closely with our mission to support practitioners to transform lived experience into meaningful clinical improvement. The Equitable Bereavement Care Conference is a national platform that brings bereaved families, healthcare professionals, researchers, charities and system leaders together to advance equitable bereavement care and address disparities in perinatal loss. A sincere thank you to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) for supporting this important event. 📅 Friday 20 November 2026 📍 Coram Campus, London WCIN 1AZ 🎟️ Registration is now open via Eventbrite: https://lnkd.in/er8cCWnh #EquitableBereavementCare #BlackBabyLossAwareness #PerinatalLoss #BereavementCare #HealthEquity #MaternityCare #MaternalMentalHealth #NHS #HealthcareLeadership #Conference2026

This week is Birth Trauma Awareness Week, founded by our member, Birth Trauma Association (UK). The theme for 2026 is the Hidden Cost of Birth Trauma. Birth trauma describes symptoms of trauma related to the birth itself and/or circumstances around the birth. The effects of birth trauma can ripple outward for months and into years. Often in ways that aren’t visible from the outside. Key trauma symptoms are avoidance behaviours, hypervigilence, re-experiencing of traumatic events & persistent negative thoughts. These symptoms, however severe, can hugely impact your ability to live your life and can... 💜 Affect bonding with your baby, making the early weeks and months feel harder than expected. 💜 Change how you feel about feeding choices and whether / when to start, stop etc 💜 Affect your friendships, relationships and intimacy with a partner, sometimes for a longtime after birth. 💜 Shape whether you feel able to have another child. 💜 Affect how safe you feel in different spaces. 💜 Affect decisions about returning to work and subsequent career choices too. These costs don’t always get named and they don’t always get support but they matter and they deserve to be understood. We'll keep working, and fighting, for good, timely mental health care for every woman and birthing person affected.

Perinatal mental health struggles don't always look the way people expect. It might be a quiet feeling that something isn’t right for you, or for someone else to you. Or it could feel altogether different. Our symptom checker is a simple way to start making sense of it. The symptom checker has a few questions, and some clear guidance on what your experience might mean and where to go from here. It's there for parents wondering about their own wellbeing, and for partners, friends, or family who've noticed a change and aren't sure how to raise it. You don't need to have the words for it yet. The checker can help you find them. If you would like to display the symptom checker in your workplace, you can also order flyers and posters in bulk directly from us by emailing info@maternalmentalhealthalliance.org 💜

Did you know about The Parent Gap? {There’s FREE RESOURCES!} Are you an HR professional, line manager or supervisor who wants to support parents and carers? We can help you close the gap in mental health support at work, with support and learning resources dedicated to improving parental mental health. Created because at least 25% of women and birthing people, and at least 10% of men and non-birthing parents, will experience a perinatal mental health problem during pregnancy or in the years following birth. You can access and download our free resources including a perinatal mental health guide for your HR team and for supervisors and line managers. There are also a range of paid for services which you can find out more about on http://theparentgap.co.uk website. Because we want every workplace to embrace their opportunity to provide effective support for all parents and carers, to be a part of detection and recovery during what can be a pivotal and vulnerable time of life: from conception, through to birth and beyond.